In Brief
A 22-year-old B.Sc. student was convicted of raping and murdering a minor girl after luring her to a field on the pretext of eating plum fruits. Medical and post-mortem evidence confirmed rape and death by asphyxiation. Multiple witnesses testified to seeing the girl last with the accused and him fleeing the scene. The Trial Court and High Court imposed death sentences. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction for rape and murder but held the case did not fall within the 'rarest of rare' category requiring capital punishment. The accused had no prior criminal history and no evidence showed irreformability. The death sentence was modified to 30 years imprisonment without remission.
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