In a significant ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered the release of a man who was convicted of raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl in 2013 in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, after verifying that he was a minor at the time of the crime. The apex court, led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, upheld the conviction but set aside the life sentence previously imposed by the Allahabad High Court.
The case has been under intense scrutiny since a district court initially sentenced the accused to death on May 17, 2018, a decision that was later referred to the Allahabad High Court for confirmation as required by the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Lucknow bench of the high court commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment without the possibility of remission, acknowledging the severity of the crime but stepping back from capital punishment.
The turning point in the legal battle came after the Supreme Court directed the Juvenile Justice Board in Faizabad to verify the convict’s age. The board’s report confirmed that he was born on July 5, 1995, making him under 18 at the time of the crime on January 1, 2013. The state’s counsel did not contest the findings, leading to the apex court’s decision to treat the convict as a juvenile.
“The appellant, known as X, is accordingly directed to be treated as a juvenile on the date of the occurrence/commission of the offence,” the bench stated. “The conviction of X is upheld, but the sentence treating him as an adult as of the date of the crime is cancelled. He is directed to be released in accordance with law, if not detained for any other matter.”
The victim, whose identity has been withheld, failed to return home from school on January 29, 2013. Her body was later found in a nearby sugarcane field, leading to a swift police investigation and the subsequent arrest of the accused.
