In Brief
A young B.Sc. student was convicted of raping and murdering a child after multiple witnesses testified that the victim was last seen with him, and he fled the spot. Post-mortem evidence showed severe vaginal injuries and asphyxiation. The Trial Court and High Court imposed the death sentence. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction as fully supported by credible evidence, but found the case did not meet the 'rarest of rare' threshold for capital punishment. Considering the appellant's youth, educational background, absence of prior criminal history, and the failure of courts below to assess reform potential, the Court modified the sentence to 30 years imprisonment without remission—balancing the crime's heinousness against mitigating factors."
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