Madhya Pradesh High Court Confirms Death Penalty For Man Convicted Of Raping And Murdering Five-Year-Old Child

The Court affirmed the conviction recorded by the Special Judge under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and proceeded to confirm the death sentence on reference under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

The Court was hearing a criminal appeal filed by the accused challenging his conviction, along with a criminal reference for confirmation of the death sentence submitted by the Special Judge.

A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice Ramkumar Choubey, while confirming the sentence, observed that even though the “ancient principle of justice, known as lex talionis, that means that the punishment of a criminal should be commensurate with the crime does not find place in the modern penology”, yet “the facts of the case in hand, when examined from both, the offender’s and the offence’s point of view, it leads to a conclusion that this is a case which must fall in a rarest of rare category”.

Background

The prosecution case arose from a missing person complaint lodged by the mother of a five-year-old girl, following which a missing person report and FIR were registered.

During search operations, the dead body of the child was recovered from a plastic water tank kept in the bathroom of a flat occupied by the accused along with family members. The body was identified by the family members of the child.

Post-mortem examination conducted by a team of forensic doctors at AIIMS, Bhopal, revealed extensive injuries, including severe pelvic injuries, and confirmed sexual assault. The medical opinion recorded that the death was homicidal and caused by injuries to the pelvic region.

During the investigation, the accused was taken into custody. Based on his disclosure, several articles, including clothing and a knife, were seized from the premises. The accused was medically examined, and biological samples were collected.

DNA analysis conducted by the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory matched the biological material found on seized articles with the blood sample of the accused and also established the biological parentage of the child.

Upon completion of the investigation, a charge sheet was filed, and the trial court, while acquitting the co-accused, convicted the accused for multiple offences and imposed a death sentence along with other sentences.

Aggrieved, the accused preferred an appeal, and the trial court also made a statutory reference for confirmation of the death sentence.

Court’s Observation

The High Court first examined the evidence relating to the recovery of the dead body from the flat occupied by the accused and held that the prosecution had proved the recovery through consistent testimony of police officials and family members of the deceased.

The Court analysed the medical evidence and accepted the post-mortem findings, which established that the child had been subjected to sexual assault and had suffered extensive pelvic injuries sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature.

The Bench examined the disclosure statements of the accused and the recoveries made pursuant thereto. The Court applied the principles governing discovery under law and held that the recoveries were legally admissible and corroborated by independent witnesses.

The Court placed significant reliance on the DNA evidence. The Bench noted that the forensic report established a conclusive link between the accused and the biological material found on the seized articles recovered from the spot and from the possession of the accused.

The Court held that the chain of circumstantial evidence was complete and unbroken, and satisfied the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra governing proof by circumstantial evidence.

The Court rejected the defence relating to mental illness, noting that medical evidence did not establish any mental disorder impairing the capacity of the accused to understand or control his actions.

The High Court then considered the principles governing the imposition of the death penalty, referring to decisions including Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab, Machhi Singh v. State of Punjab, and subsequent precedents on the doctrine of rarest of rare.

The Court analysed aggravating and mitigating circumstances and held that the age of the victim, the barbaric manner of commission, the use of a knife causing multiple injuries, the concealment of the body, and the criminal antecedents of the accused constituted strong aggravating factors.

The Court held that the mitigating circumstances urged, including the socio-economic background and family status of the accused, did not outweigh the gravity and brutality of the offence.

On an overall assessment, the Court concluded that the case squarely fell within the rarest of rare category, warranting capital punishment.

Conclusion

The Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed the criminal appeal filed by the accused and affirmed the conviction recorded by the trial court.

On the criminal reference, the High Court confirmed the death sentence awarded to the accused, holding that the offence fell within the “rarest of rare”, while stating that “barbarity of act is dripping down from every ounce of evidence.”

Accordingly, the death reference was answered in the affirmative, and the sentence of death imposed by the trial court was confirmed.

Cause Title: Atul Nihale v. State of Madhya Pradesh

Appearances

Appellant: Sanjay K. Agrawal, Senior Advocate & Mihir Agrawal, Advocate (Amicus Curiae)

Respondents: Nitin Gupta, Public Prosecutor

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