Supreme Court Modifies Sentence Of Convict In Rape-Cum-Murder Case To 20-Year Of Jail Term

The Supreme Court of India modified its previous judgement commuting the death penalty of a convict who had sexually assaulted and killed a four-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh on April 2013. In its revised verdict on Friday (October 21), the Court stated that the man would now be released after serving a jail term of 20 years for all the offences.

In its April 19 judgement, the SC commuted the death sentence of accused Mohd Firoz into life imprisonment, reported NDTV.

However, it had ratified the award of a life term for the offence of rape under some provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Consequently, the convict would have stayed behind bars till the last breath.

What Did The Court Say?

The SC bench consisting of Chief Justice UU Lalit and Justices Bela M Trivedi and SR Bhat took note of a provisional application of the man and treated it as a review petition. They revised its order making clear that the accused would be getting a 20-year sentence for all the offences.

It stated, "The upshot of this order would be that the appellant-petitioner shall undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 20 years for the offence under Sections 376(2)(i) and 376(2)(m) of IPC, and for a period of 20 years for the offence under Section 5 (i) and 5 (m) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act. The judgment and order dated April 19, 2022, passed by this Court...stands corrected and modified to the aforesaid extent. The rest of the judgment shall remain unchanged. The review petition stands allowed accordingly."

Further, while writing the observation, Justice Trivedi stated if the life imprisonment sentence inflicted by the sessions court and confirmed by the High Court is also affirmed by the apex court for the crime of rape and as per the POCSO Act, then the life sentence would mean imprisonment for the rest of the natural life of the petitioner. He added that the very purpose of the Court is not imposing a life imprisonment sentence for the remainder of the petitioner's life for the offence under Section 376(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which would be frustrating.

What Was The Case?

The Court said that it had observed one of the most atrocious and ugly human faces that had surfaced. It said that a tiny bud-like girl was smothered by the appellant before she could blossom in the world, and any sympathy shown to the man would lead to the miscarriage of justice. Additionally, it said the Court had not treated such cases as the rarest of rare.

The lower Court had given the death penalty to the convict, whereas co-accused Rakesh Chaudhary was handed down seven-year rigorous imprisonment. The HC had acquitted the latter but had confirmed the death sentence for Firoz.

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