Bombay High Court: In a recent judgment, a bench comprising of VK Tahilramani and IK Jain, JJ has confirmed the death penalty to a man who was convicted for raping and killing a minor school girl. In the present case, the victim used to go on foot to her school and on the unfortunate day, she was returning alone from her school. The accused who was just 22 years old, took this opportunity to rape and brutally assault the girl in a remote place where there was nobody to protect her. After satisfying his lust he killed her as he thought she might expose him and buried her body in a naked condition in a ditch. Earlier, a Sessions Court convicted him under S. 302 of the IPC and sentenced him to capital punishment. He was also convicted under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
The Court noted the fact that the offence was pre planned and not committed at the spur of the moment. The subsequent conduct of the accused indicated that he had felt no remorse. After commission of crime, he was found coolly wandering in the village. The Court observed that the modus-operandi to commit the crime by resorting to diabolical method exhibited depravity, degradation and uncommon nature of the crime which had shocked the collective conscience of the community as well as the villagers who are required to send their minor girls to another village for education, in the era in which right to education is the constitutional guarantee. The Court called the crime “an ultimate insult to womanhood” and stated that the modus-operandi of the accused clearly shows that he would be a menace to the society and there is no possibility of the accused being reformed and thereby confirmed the death penalty. State of Maharashtra vs. Viran Gyanlal Rajput, 2015 SCC OnLine Bom 380, decided on 16-02-2015
