Srinagar: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has modified the sentence – from death to life imprisonment — to four persons convicted in the horrific rape and murder of a 14-year-old school girl in Handwara area of Kupwara district in 2007.
The Principal District & Session’s Judge Kupwara had in 2015 pronounced death penalty to the four persons — Mohammad Sadiq Mir alias Sada of Langate Kupwara, Jehangir Ansari of Nawada Jungoo area of West Bengal, Azhar Ahmad Mir alias Billa of Shatapora Langate and Suresh Kumar Sasi alias Mouchi of Rajasthan, at present Amritsar Punjab, after holding them guilty for the rape and murder of the minor girl.
“…we are inclined to modify the sentence of death imposed by the trial court on the appellants (four convicts) for commission of offence punishable under Section 302 RPC and instead sentence the appellants to imprisonment for life without remission for at least 25 years i.e. they shall not be released for any reason, whatsoever, before serving the minimum sentence of twenty-five years,” a division bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice M.A.Chowdhary said.
“Rest of the sentences imposed by the trial court shall remain intact and those of imprisonment would run concurrently with imprisonment for life,” the court said, adding, that the “trial court shall issue a warrant for execution of sentences, in terms of this judgment.”
Apart from awarding death penalty for commission of offense under RPC section (now repealed) of 302/34, the convicts were sentenced to simple imprisonment of one month for offence under Section 341/34 RPC and rigorous imprisonment of seven years and ten years for offences punishable under Section 363/34 RPC and 376(G)/34 RPC respectively.
According to the prosecution, a hapless minor girl was gang-raped and killed in orchards near Batapora Wuder on July 20, 2007. The rape was committed upon her when she was on her way from school to her home, the prosecution said. Subsequently, police arrested these four persons and filed chargesheet which culminated in their conviction and awarding of the death penalty in 2015.
“Public opinion is difficult to fit in ‘rarest of the rare’ doctrine. Peoples’ perception of crime is neither an objective circumstance relating to crime nor to the criminal,” the division bench said, adding, “perception of public is extraneous to conviction as also sentencing according to the Mandate of Bachan Singh (SC verdict).”
