The Allahabad High Court has refused to confirm the death sentence awarded to a convict by a sessions court for attempting to burn the dead body of a six-year-old girl from Rampur after raping her. The High Court set aside the death sentence given by the lower court and acquitted the convict, Nazil, due to lack of evidence.
The division bench of Justice Manoj Mishra and Justice Sameer Jain observed that:
“The prosecution failed to prove that the victim was last seen with the appellant. Also, there is no medical evidence against the appellant.”
The court also acquitted the accused from the punishment under different sections of rape and murder and directed the jail authorities to release him from jail immediately. The court said that the trial court failed to understand the evidence. The crime could not be proved.
The court ignored all the arguments of the prosecution as there was no independent witness and incriminating evidence at the spot. The court said that barring the confession, the police did not have any evidence which helps in proving the incident. As such, the appellant is entitled to be acquitted, the court said.
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The court also rejected the reference of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Court sent for confirmation of death sentence. The High Court said that in the absence of any other case against the appellant, he should be released from jail without delay under the provisions of section 437 (A) of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The case happened in Rampur in 2019 where the appellant was accused of raping and killing a six-year-old girl. The girl’s body was found in a semi-constructed house in Kanshiram Colony of the district in July 2019. After the trial of the case, the POCSO Court sentenced the appellant to death after finding him guilty under Section 363, 376AB, 302 of IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.
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