In Brief
A 25-year-old man was convicted of raping and murdering an 8-year-old girl, his cousin's daughter. The trial court sentenced him to death; the High Court confirmed the conviction and sentence. On appeal to the Supreme Court, the appellant challenged the death penalty. The Court upheld the conviction for murder (Section 302 IPC) and sexual assault (Section 376(2)(i) IPC and Section 6 POCSO Act), finding the medical evidence of throttling and grave genital injuries conclusively established the crime despite the lack of DNA profiling. However, the Court held the case did not fall within the 'rarest of rare' category for capital punishment due to the appellant's lack of criminal antecedents and possibility of reformation. The death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment with a minimum of 30 years actual incarceration without remission or premature release.
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