In Brief
An 18-year-old student was abducted by two friends under the guise of a motorcycle ride, then strangled and burned. The appellants were convicted of kidnapping for ransom under Section 364A IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court set aside the Section 364A conviction because the prosecution failed to prove demand for ransom—a mandatory element. Although the father claimed to have received a ransom call, it was traced to an acquitted third person, and the victim made no mention of ransom in court. The victim's sole reference to ransom was in a supplementary police statement two months later, which cannot be a dying declaration since he survived. The Court upheld convictions for abduction to murder (Section 364) and attempted murder, reduced the sentence to 10 years imprisonment, and increased victim compensation from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakhs.
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