In Brief
A maternal uncle sexually assaulted his 2.5-year-old niece with such severity that it resulted in her death. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction for culpable homicide amounting to murder and rape of a child under the POCSO Act, but set aside the death sentence, imposing life imprisonment instead. The Court found the evidence circumstantially established the offence but concluded that since the appellant lacked the specific intent to cause death (required for capital punishment under the first three clauses of Section 302 IPC), death was disproportionate. The Court also held that retrospective amendments to sentencing provisions would not apply to offences committed under earlier legislation.
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