In Brief
A man was convicted of kidnapping, raping, and murdering a minor girl. The High Court imposed the death penalty, but noted that the victim was found bleeding from forcible sexual intercourse—a finding unsupported by medical evidence. The Supreme Court set aside the death sentence, holding that conviction under Section 376A IPC requires only that the victim died during rape, not that death resulted from the rape itself. The Court found the case did not qualify as 'rarest of rare' for death penalty. Life imprisonment without remission was substituted, applying the special sentencing theory developed in prior case law.
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