P&H High Court Reduces Death Sentence to Life Imprisonment
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has revised the death sentence of a 27-year-old man, Anand Singh, who was found guilty of the horrific rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl in 2021, as outlined in the case State of Haryana v Anand Singh. The Division Bench, comprising Justice Anoop Chitkara and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri, reduced his sentence to rigorous life imprisonment, specifying that he must serve at least 50 years in prison without parole.
Enhanced Financial Penalty
In addition to the commuted sentence, the Court increased the financial penalty for the murder conviction to ₹50 Lakh. Should Singh fail to pay this amount, he faces an additional 500 days of imprisonment. This decision underscores the Court’s intent to ensure that the convict remains incarcerated for a significant period. The judgment expressed the need to protect society from potential future offenses, stating, “To ensure that this pervert is not a potential risk to the other girls, he must remain in prison till the sunset of his virility.”
Details of the Crime
The tragic incident occurred on May 24, 2021, when the young victim, whose family hails from a scheduled tribe in Madhya Pradesh, was reported missing by her father. The family lived in Palwal, where the father worked at a tile plant. Exploiting the absence of the girl’s parents, Singh, a neighbor, lured the child, leading to the brutal crimes. In July 2023, a trial court convicted Singh of murder and rape, revealing that he had brutally raped the minor, subsequently strangling her and hiding her body in a pit. This led to his initial death sentence, which was contested in the High Court.
Judicial Decision
In its July 8 ruling, the High Court confirmed that the prosecution had incontrovertibly established Singh’s involvement. The evidence included a postmortem report and DNA analysis that corroborated the charge of penetrative sexual assault. Although the conviction was upheld, the Court chose to commute the death penalty, referencing various judicial precedents. The Bench noted, “Regarding the murder sentence under §302 IPC, all the mitigating factors compel this Court to award the maximum possible incarceration, other than capital punishment, to avoid violating the accused’s right to a sentence proportionate to what was awarded to other similarly placed convicts, as an alternative to a death sentence.”
Legal Representation
The State was represented by Advocates Yuvraj Shandilya, Rahul Mohan, Karan Sharma, and Shiva Khurmi. Legal Aid Counsel Vibha Dhiman defended the convict, while Advocate Prateek Gupta acted as amicus curiae in the case. [Read Judgment]
