SC Stays Execution Of Death Penalty In 11-Yr-Old Rape & Murder Case [Read Order]

‘If in such barbaric act, Court takes lenient view, certainly this may prick conscious of the society besides pricking conscious of this Court.’, the HC had said in this case.

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the execution of man convicted for rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl.

The Patna High Court had confirmed the death penalty imposed on Munna Pandey by the trial court.

Issuing notice in the special leave petition filed by Pandey, the bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Navin Sinha and Justice KM Joseph observed that there shall be stay of the execution of the death sentence till disposal of the appeals.

While confirming the sentence, the division bench of the Patna High Court had observed: “If in such barbaric act, Court takes lenient view, certainly this may prick conscious of the society besides pricking conscious of this Court.”

The bench comprising Justice Rakesh Kumar and Justice Arvind Srivastava had said: “Considering the fact that the appellant, who was in the age of 50 years and was having in visiting term with the family of the appellant, in a situation where he lured the victim, who was aged about 11 years and carried her to his house, committed rape and brutally murdered her, certainly, may not get weightage of mitigating circumstances, rather the entire circumstances suggest that the entire act was aggravating and as such, while balancing, this Court may prefer to approve the sentence of death instead of preferring to take lenient view.”