HC sets aside sentence of man accused of minor’s rape, murder

Kolkata:The Calcutta High Court has set aside the life sentence of a man convicted for the rape and murder of a minor girl, holding that while the crime itself stood medically proven, the prosecution failed to establish any evidence linking the accused to the offence.

A Division Bench of Justices Rajasekhar Mantha and Ajay Kumar Gupta found the trial court’s verdict contrary to the evidence on record and violative of the basic canons of criminal jurisprudence. The court ordered the appellant’s immediate release, subject to execution of a statutory bond for six months, if he is not wanted in any other case.

The case dates back to March 3, 2008, when the minor girl went missing after going out to play near her grandparents’ house. Her body was recovered the next morning from the Kansa river. Initially, the family didn’t suspect foul play. It was only during funeral rituals that injuries and bleeding in the child’s private parts were noticed, leading to the exhumation of the body and a post-mortem examination.

The autopsy confirmed that the child had been subjected to gang rape and died a homicidal death caused by the combined effect of asphyxia, shock and haemorrhage from multiple ante-mortem injuries. However, the autopsy doctor did not ascertain the approximate time of death. The High Court underlined that proof of rape and murder alone could not sustain a conviction without credible evidence identifying the perpetrator.

The prosecution’s case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence, with the “last seen” theory projected as the primary link. The Bench held that this link was not established, noting that no witness testified to having seen the appellant with the child before her disappearance. Statements that the accused had informed the parents about seeing the child crying near a market were found insufficient and inconsistent with guilt.

The court noted that most prosecution witnesses were close relatives or acquaintances of the victim’s family and had no direct knowledge of the crime. An alleged confession before police was held legally inadmissible.

Although semen samples were collected and the victim’s clothes were allegedly sent for forensic examination, no forensic science laboratory report was produced or exhibited during the trial. There was no biological comparison and no scientific evidence connecting the appellant to the offence. Recovery of the victim’s clothing from the house of a co-accused, who later absconded, was held insufficient to implicate the appellant.