SC restores Life Imprisonment to Accused for raping and burning alive a young girl [Read Judgment]

Supreme Court, on Monday, has sentenced a man accused of raping and burning alive a young girl for life imprisonment. Apex Court bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Arun Mishra reversed the Gauhati High Court order acquitting the accused from rape charges and restored the conviction and sentence recorded by trial court.

The High Court had set aside the conviction of the accused under section 376 IPC and altering the conviction under section 302 to section 304 Part II IPC, sentencing the accused to 7 years’ imprisonment while maintaining the conviction recorded by the trial court under section 454 IPC thereby sentencing him to undergo Rigorous for one year. The State filed appeal in Supreme Court.

The Court, considering various depositions and documents on record, said that it could not be said to be a case of consensual sexual intercourse. It was not a case of consensual sexual intercourse, but the victim had made hue and cry on commission of rape on her. Evidence and circumstances militate against it being consensual sexual intercourse, the Court said.

The Court added ‘Men may lie but the circumstances do not is cardinal principle of evaluation of 9 evidence. The circumstances, the oral evidence and dying declarations of the deceased unerringly pointed out that it was not a case of consensual sexual intercourse. The dying declarations have to be read together immediate conduct of victim takes it out to be a case of consensual sexual intercourse.’

Restoring the Trial court order of conviction under Section 302 IPC, the Court said “the shameful method and manner in which the incident has taken place, leaves no room for any doubt that the accused wanted to eliminate the deceased for all time to come. He intended to cause death by setting her ablaze so that commission of offence of rape does not see the light of the day”.

Read the Judgment here.