Raping, Impregnating Minor Daughter Not Rarest of Rare: Punjab & Haryana HC

In a chilling case of prolonged sexual abuse within a household, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has commuted the death sentence awarded to a man for repeatedly raping and impregnating his minor daughter, ruling that while the crime was “heinous,” it did not fall within the “rarest of rare” category required to justify capital punishment.

The 39-year-old man from Palwal, Haryana, was convicted in October 2023 of subjecting his daughter to sexual assault over a period of four years, starting when she was a minor. The survivor eventually became pregnant at 17, and a DNA test confirmed the accused as the biological father. The trial court had sentenced him to death under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Penal Code provisions.

However, in its July 11 judgment, a division bench of Justices Gurvinder Singh Gill and Jasjit Singh Bedi upheld the conviction but modified the sentence, directing that the convict serve 30 years of rigorous imprisonment without remission.

Court observed that although the father had betrayed the highest form of trust and subjected his own daughter to prolonged sexual exploitation, the circumstances did not reflect the kind of exceptional depravity required to justify the death penalty. The judges pointed out that the crime, while egregious, did not involve murder or dismemberment, nor was there evidence that the man posed an ongoing threat to society at large.

“It goes without saying that the accused having subjected his minor daughter to repeated penetrative sexual assault and having got her pregnant has committed one of the most heinous crimes,” the bench stated. “However, in the given circumstances, we do not find it to be a case falling in the category of the rarest of rare.”

The court noted that the convict had no previous criminal record, and there was a possibility, however remote, of reform. The judgment also stressed that the “rarest of rare” doctrine, as evolved by the Supreme Court, calls for a careful balancing of aggravating and mitigating factors, and the death penalty must only be reserved for crimes where life imprisonment is inadequate.

The survivor had told the trial court that she was repeatedly assaulted by her father since the age of 13. She remained silent due to fear and social pressure. Her ordeal came to light only after she became visibly pregnant, prompting police involvement.