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Synopsis

The Allahabad High Court recently reduced the life sentence for a convict in the rape case of an 8-year-old girl to 14 years of imprisonment.

After a thorough review of the case, including medical reports and witness testimonies, Justices Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Gautam Chowdhary confirmed Durvesh Alias Pappu’s conviction for raping the minor, however, they found that there were no circumstances that could justify awarding excessive punishment to him.

The division bench observed that this was the convict's first offence and that the possibility of his reform could not be dismissed.

Court cited a judgment from July 15, 2022, in the case of Babu vs. State of U.P., where a division bench of the high court referenced the Supreme Court's guidance on avoiding undue harshness in sentencing, emphasizing the importance of a reformative approach within the criminal justice system.

The convict filed a criminal appeal challenging his conviction under Section 376 of the IPC and Sections 3/4 of the POCSO Act. He had been sentenced to life imprisonment for the first charge and 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for the second.

According to the prosecution, on April 3, 2013, the 8-year-old victim was with her siblings near a village school when the accused enticed her away by offering candies. Shortly after, the siblings heard distressing cries and rushed to the fields, where they discovered the accused assaulting their sister. The FIR was filed by the victim girl's father. The girl was severely injured in the incident. 

The trial court had noted that from the oral and documentary evidence, it had been proved beyond reasonable doubt that the girl had been raped and from the statement of the victim, it was also clear that Durvesh Alias Pappu was the culprit. 

However, in appeal, the counsel for the convict argued that the girl had been injured by a buffalo and the convict had been falsely implicated. The counsel also apprised the court that the convict had already been incarcerated for 13 years, 08 months, and 13 days.

The high court found that the medical evidence as well as the statement of the witnesses clearly established the guilt of the convict. However, it held that the trial court had failed to assign any reason for imposing the maximum sentence upon the convict. 

"At the stage of considering the question of sentence, we find that the trial court has sentenced the accused/appellant to life imprisonment under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. The punishment under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code ranges from seven years to life imprisonment. When the court proceeds to impose the maximum allowable punishment for an offence, it is the main principle of law that there reasons for imposing such maximum punishment should be given. We do not find any reason...", court noted. 

Accordingly, court opined that 14 years of imprisonment would effectively balance the demands of justice with the opportunity for the convict's reform in the present case. 

Case Title: Durvesh Alias Pappu v. State of UP