Supreme Court Modifies Sentence Of Life Imprisonment To Imprisonment of 30 Years with No Remission in Rape-Murder Case

A Bench of Justices L.Nageswara Rao and Hrishikesh Roy modified the order of sentence of life imprisonment till natural life to a sentence of 30 years without remission. 

The appellant had been convicted for the offenses of rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl child. The Trial Court had convicted the appellant under Sections 376-A, 302, 363, 201 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 ('POCSO Act') imposed the death penalty. While answering the death reference, the Madhya Pradesh High Court in its impugned judgment had upheld the conviction of the appellant but converted the death sentence into life imprisonment. However, the High Court held that the imprisonment of life shall be till the natural life of the appellant. 

Disposing off the criminal appeal, the Supreme Court modified the order of sentence of life imprisonment till natural life to a sentence of 30 years without remission. The Court noted that Section 376-A Indian Penal Code. provides for punishment for the commission of an offense for a term which shall not be less than 20 years and which may extend to imprisonment for life. In this light, the modified sentence of imprisonment of 30 years without remission would fall within the parameters of Section 376-A of the Indian Penal Code.

It may be noted that Section 6 of the POCSCO Act also provides that punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault shall be rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life or death sentence. 

Read/Download the Order here

Case Title: Arvind @ Chhotu Thakur v State of Madhya Pradesh

Counsel: AOR Aparna Jha for the Petitioner; AOR Pashupathi Nath Razdan for the Respondent