India | Allahabad high court sets aside trial court’s verdict in rape, murder case

The Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on Wednesday set aside the judgment of a Barabanki court which had sentenced a youth seven years ago with death penalty for allegedly outraging modesty of a minor girl and thereafter strangulating her to death.

The court said that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Rejecting the death reference forwarded by the trial court seeking confirmation of the sentence it had awarded on August 29, 2014, a division bench of Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Rajeev Singh said, “The court is conscious of the fact that in the present case a 12-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and done to death by throttling. But the fact remains as to whether it was the accused-appellant who committed the alleged crime appears to be doubtful.”

Allowing the appeal filed by the accused against the trial court verdict, Justice Rajeev Singh, who wrote the judgment for the division bench, said “The incident does not appear to have happened in the manner in which the prosecution wants the court to believe it had happened. Therefore, the accused-appellant becomes entitled for the benefit of doubt and the appeal deserves to be allowed.”

The bench also expressed displeasure on the manner of investigation.

Additional Sessions Judge, court number one, Barabanki, had on August 29, 2014, awarded death sentence to Ubhan Yadav alias Abhay Kumar Yadav holding him guilty under sections 302, 376 and 201 of the IPC.

The father had lodged an FIR with the Deva police station on March 3, 2013, that her minor daughter had gone out of house in the noon.

Later, her body was found in a groove.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

Source: The Times of India, Staff, June 3, 2021

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