JUDGMENT :

Sanjay K. Agrawal, J.

1. The appellant herein namely Shekhar Korram has been awarded with death sentence by the learned Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track Special Court – POCSO), Rajnandgaon in Special Criminal (POCSO) Case No.50/2020 vide judgment dated 13-9-2021 after having found him guilty for offence punishable under Sections 363, 366, 302 of the IPC and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (for short, ‘the POCSO Act’) and also under Section 201 of the IPC. He has been sentenced to death by hanging under sub-section (5) of Section 354 of the CrPC. Conviction and sentences imposed upon the appellant are as follows:-

2. The learned Additional Sessions Judge in exercise of power conferred under Section 366 of the CrPC after passing the sentence of death submitted the proceedings to this Court for its confirmation and this is how this death reference is before us for consideration along with the appeal preferred by the accused / appellant herein being Cr.A. No.1270/2021.

3. The prosecution case as unfolded during the course of trial is as under: -

Admitted facts / prosecution case, in brief: -

3.1 Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 22-8-2020 Omprakash @ Prakash Yadav (PW-1) lodged a complaint in Police Outpost Chikhli, Police Station City Kotwali, Rajnandgaon that his minor daughter aged about 3 years 6 months went missing and on that basis, Crime No.0/2020 was recorded for the offence punishable under Section 363 of the IPC vide Ex.P-38 by Police Outpost Chikhli, District Rajnandgaon and on the same day i.e. 22-8-2020, Police Outpost Chikhli has prepared a missing panchnama questionnaires under the prescribed format on the basis of the complaint made by Omprakash vide Ex.P-2. The first information report registered as Crime No.0/2020 (Ex.P-38) in Police Outpost Chikhli was later on transferred to Police Station City Kotwali, Rajnandgaon and registered as Crime No.382/2020 vide Ex.P-10. on the same day, i.e. 22-8-2020 at about 23:25 hours, information regarding murder of the missing minor girl has been received by the police and the police reached to the crime spot and prepared dehati morgue intimation vide Ex.P-11. The police also prepared morgue intimation regarding murder of minor girl vide Ex.P-39 and thereafter, took up the matter for investigation and prepared naksha panchnama of the crime spot vide Ex.P-4.

3.2 During investigation, the appellant was apprehended and he confessed to have abducted the deceased minor victim and thereafter committed sexual assault upon her and then killed her by smothering. The police on suspicion and on information given by Narad Sinha (PW-2) and Bhuneshwari (PW-10), arrested the appellant / accused and recorded his memorandum statement under Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act in shape of Ex.P-14. Pursuant to the memorandum disclosure statement of the appellant / accused, dead body of the deceased victim and pillow cover used in the crime were recovered vide Exs.P-15 & P-16. Further, underwear of the accused was also seized at his instance vide Ex.P-17. Pursuant to the memorandum statement of the appellant / accused, dead body of the deceased minor girl was recovered from the house of the appellant / accused on being disclosed by the accused / appellant and dead body was identified by her father Omprakash (PW-1) vide dead body identification panchnama Ex.P-5. Thereafter,