In a verdict that sparked outrage across the country, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of Mohd Firoz who was convicted of rape and murder of a 4-year-old minor girl saying that “every sinner has a future”. The Court also refused to sentence the convict to life imprisonment and instead awarded him 20 years of jail punishment.
Earlier, the Madhya Pradesh HC had convicted Mohd Firoz of raping and murdering a minor girl and awarded him with capital punishment. Challenging the legality of the judgment that was passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur in 2014, the apex court cited the Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde stating that “the only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”
“Every Sinner Has A Future”: Supreme Court Commutes Death Sentence Imposed On Man For Rape & Murder Of 4 Year Old Girl https://t.co/ZMA4W4y9ip
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) April 20, 2022
A bench of Justices U U Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat, and Bela M Trivedi maintained that the basic principle of restorative justice as developed by the court over the years was to allow the offender to repair the damage caused and to become a socially useful individual after his release from the jail. “To allow the offender to repair the damage caused, and to become a socially useful individual when he is released from the jail -The maximum punishment prescribed may not always be the determinative factor for repairing the crippled psyche of the offender”, para 43 of the judgment read.
In its judgement further, the Court stated that the Judge presiding over the criminal trial has not only to see that an innocent man is not punished but also has to see that the guilty man does not escape. “Right to a fair and speedy trial applies as much to the victim as the accused”, the judgement noted.
The bench reconsidered the ruling of the sessions court and the High court and said that the evidence on record was forming a chain of circumstances and that any other hypothesis except the guilt of the accused could be possible. The Sessions Court in 2014 had framed offences under various sections of the IPC against two accused Rakesh Chaudhary and Mohd Firoz and had directed them to undergo life imprisonment. The Madhya Pradesh High Court however dismissed the appeal of accused Firoz and confirmed the death sentence for him, acquitting Chaudhary in the case.
Upon the death sentence, the SC panel held that it deems proper to commute the sentence of death for the sentence of imprisonment for life under Section 302 of the IPC. The panel asserted that owing to Section 376A of the IPC, the sentence of imprisonment would have been appropriate considering the gravity and seriousness of the offence.
The post-mortem report of the victim
The Supreme Court ruled its decision after it considered the witnesses including the victim’s family, fruit seller, Police, and the Doctors who had identified Firoz. The Doctors had medically examined Firoz and collected his sample proving that he was capable of committing sexual intercourse. The Doctors also examined the victim girl and declared that she was raped. However, they denied confirming the actual cause of death antemortem.
The post-mortem of the victim was conducted by Dr Pradeep Gangadhar Dixit, Professor and HOD in Forensic Medicine Department, Medical College, Nagpur, on April 30, 2013, along with his colleagues. He had recorded that the victim had injuries on her upper lip, lower lip, neck, and in the area below the neck and above the chest.
“Dr Pradeep Gangadhar Dixit, a professor and H.O.D. in Forensic Medicine Department, Medical College, Nagpur, along with his colleagues conducted the postmortem of the dead body of the victim at about 10:35 AM on 30 April 2013 and noted the external and internal injuries on the body of the victim. The final cause of death was stated to be “brochopeneumonia and cerebral hypoxia, which was caused by smothering the nose and mouth, the SC order read.
The post-mortem report also mentioned that the victim had multiple linear abrasions on the right thigh and there were marks of pressure on her elbow, right wrist, and in between the legs. The doctors had further made a hole in the right side of the heart to assess the central venous pressure. The report confirmed the blood clots over the internal muscles and noted that all the organs of the deceased were congested. Also, the vaginal canal of the deceased was partially torn.
What had happened to a 4-year old victim in the year 2013
The case dates back to the year 2013 when the 4-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and murdered by Mohd Firoz. At about 06:30 pm, Rakesh Choudhary visited the house of the victim along with Mohd Firoz and requested her mother to provide accommodation for Firoz for a day. However, her mother refused to provide such accommodation. Thereafter, Rakesh Choudhary left and Firoz sat for a while in the courtyard of the house. He saw a minor girl aged about 4 years playing with her brother and other cousins.
After some time, the mother found that her daughter was missing and even Firoz had left the house. She along with her other family members tried to search for her daughter at the nearby places, however, she was not found. A few hours later a man came with some bananas and told the victim’s mother that Bhaijaan (Firoz) had taken the girl with him. The mother got scared and went to the police station in Ghansaur to lodge a missing report.
On the next morning, some villagers found the minor girl lying unconscious in one of the fields. The girl was identified by the brother of victim’s mother. The victim was lying unconscious and blood was oozing from her mouth and nostrils. He immediately took her first to the Police Station and then to the Government Hospital at Ghansaur. The condition of the victim was deteriorating so she was shifted to the hospital at Jabalpur. The Doctors who examined and treated her confirmed that a rape was committed on the victim.
In their medical report, doctors stated that the victim’s hymen was found ruptured due to sexual intercourse and that a rape was committed against her. Dr Hemant, a private medical practitioner at Jabalpur Hospital, examined the victim and carried out C.T Scan. He had found swelling in her brain. The victim was kept on the ventilator, but her condition was deteriorating and, therefore, she was shifted to Nagpur.
