In Brief
In this criminal appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of Rajesh Daware and Arvind Singh for the kidnapping and murder of an 8-year-old boy, Yug Chandak, son of a dentist in Nagpur. The Court found overwhelming circumstantial evidence linking both accused to the crime: they were seen with the victim at five locations from 16:00 to 18:00 hours on 1 September 2014, the victim was recovered dead under a bridge, and a ransom call was made demanding payment. The Court rejected the argument that A-1 was in unlawful police custody and held that both accused shared common intention to kidnap for ransom. However, the Court reduced the death sentence to life imprisonment with no remission for 25 years, holding that while the crime was heinous, the motive was to obtain ransom rather than cause death, placing it outside the 'rarest of rare' category. The judgment invoked the principle of 'special sentencing' permitting life imprisonment as an alternative to death.
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