In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a man for raping and murdering a five-year-old schoolgirl but modified his sentence from death to 25 years' imprisonment without remission. The conviction rested on circumstantial evidence: the child was last seen with the accused, her body and school bag were recovered at his instance, and he gave a false explanation about her whereabouts. While the crime was heinous, the court found death inappropriate given the accused's youth (38-40 years) and lack of prior criminal history. The court applied the principle that life imprisonment is the norm and death the exception, imposing a rigorous non-remissible term instead.
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