JUDGMENT

Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya, J.

1. These appeals are directed against the common judgment dated 8th January, 2008 passed by the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack in Death Reference Case No.2 of 2007 and J. Crl. A.No.12 of 2007. By the impugned judgment, the High Court upheld the conviction of the appellant for the offence under Section 376, 302 and 201 IPC. However, taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, the age of the appellant, his family background and the fact that the appellant had no criminal antecedent, the capital sentence for the offence under Section 302 IPC has been commuted to life imprisonment; and rest of sentence remain unaltered.

2. The case of the prosecution is that on 11th September, 2004, at about 3 p.m. accused Duryodhan Rout, on the pretext that the deceased, Subhasini, a minor girl aged about 10 years would talk over phone with his brother, Bamodev Bhoi took her on a bicycle. When the evening set in, the accused alone returned to the village and on enquiry about Subhasini, by Mulia Bhoi (PW-5), father of the deceased, he told that she had gone with a woman of Ranibandha to her house. On the next day, as she did not return Mulia