Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 27: A Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar has upheld the conviction of Tirath Singh for the kidnap and murder of a minor schoolgirl in FIR No. 98/2013, Police Station Bhaderwah, but commuted the death sentence to imprisonment for life, holding that the case does not fall in the category of “rarest of rare” warranting capital punishment.
As per the prosecution version recorded by the Court, the minor girl went to a nearby canteen on July 3, 2013 and did not return home, prompting the lodging of a missing report/FIR. After extensive searches, her decomposed body was recovered on July 13, 2013 from an isolated area near a nallah in Bhaderwah. The trial court had convicted the accused for offences under Sections 302 and 363 RPC and awarded the death penalty, which came up for confirmation before the High Court.
While considering the appeal, the High Court reiterated the settled legal principles governing circumstantial evidence and the “last seen together” theory, and held that the chain of circumstances brought on record was sufficient to sustain the conviction.
However, on the question of sentence, the Bench noted that the conviction rests on circumstantial evidence, there was no direct eyewitness account, and sexual assault was not proved; it also did not find material indicating criminal antecedents of the convict. In these circumstances, the Court concluded that life imprisonment would meet the ends of justice, and accordingly commuted the death sentence to life.
Advocate Meharban Singh appeared for the appellant, while the State was represented by Mr. Raman Sharma, AAG (Senior Advocate), assisted by Ms. Jagmeet Kour, Advocate. (JNF) |
