SC stays execution of 55 year old convicted for rape and murder of 4 year old [Read Order]

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the execution of death row convict, Vasanta Sampat Dupare, who had been convicted of raping and stoning to death a four-year-old girl in Maharashtra in 2008.

The three Judge Bench, comprising Justice Dipak Misra, Justice R.F. Nariman and Justice U.U. Lalit agreed to hear Dupare’s review petition, on his counsel’s submission that the lower Court had failed to examine the additional evidence and the related exhibits properly.

The Bench issued notice to the Maharashtra Government, directing the State to hand over the statement of witnesses and other evidence placed before the trial Court. It agreed to hear the review petition in open on April 12, and order the Public Prosecutor to remain present on that day.

Dupare had allured a 4 year old on the pretext of giving her chocolates, kidnapped and raped her. He had then battered her to death using two heavy stones. He was awarded death sentence by Additional Sessions Judge, Nagpur, which was confirmed by the Bombay High Court.

Dupare’s petition was rejected in December, 2014 by a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Misra. Upholding the High Court’s verdict, the Apex Court Bench had observed, ““It is inconceivable from the perspective of the society that a married man aged about two scores and seven make a four year minor innocent girl child the prey of his lust and deliberately cause her death. A helpless and defenseless child gets raped and murdered because of the acquaintance of the appellant with the people of the society. This is not only betrayal of an individual trust but destruction and devastation of social trust. It is perversity in its enormity. It irrefragably invites the extreme abhorrence and indignation of the collective. It is an anathema to the social balance. In our view, it meets the test of rarest of the rare case and we unhesitatingly so hold”. You may read the judgment and LiveLaw article here.

Read the order here.