JUDGMENT :

ANOOP CHITKARA, J.

1. On the intervening night of Dec 20/21, 2020, on her 5^th birthday, the victim ‘M’, whom this Court would affectionately refer to as ‘Laadli’, was allegedly abducted by the appellant Vinod alias Munna, a plumber with criminal antecedents, aged 27, from her parents. Vinod took Laadli to his home, which was at a distance of approximately 40-50 meters. He locked and bolted the doors, committed her rape, and then smothered her to death. Vinod was arrested, prosecuted, and upon conviction by the trial Court, was awarded death sentence, in addition to the other sentences as captioned above.

2. Seeking confirmation of the Death Sentence, the trial Court had sent the above- mentioned reference to this Court under §366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, [CrPC], and challenging the conviction and the consequent sentence as captioned above, the appellant also came up before this Court by filing the present criminal appeal under §374(2) of the CrPC.

3. Laadli’s father worked as a laborer and belonged to Madhya Pradesh and had been in Jhajjar, Haryana, for the past 22 years, where he and his family had been living in rented accommodation. Around one year prior to Dec 2020, they had taken a house on rent from the accused, Vinod, @ Munna, (herein after referred to as ‘Vinod’), son of Partap Singh, and for six months preceding Dec 2020, they had been staying on rent at a place near Khatiko Wali Dharamshala, Chhawani Mohalla, Jhajjar, Haryana.

4. On the intervening midnight of Dec 20/21, 2020, Vinod under the influence of alcohol, came to Laadli’s parents' rented house and took Laadli to his house. Laadli’s parents tried to rescue her, sought help from the people in the vicinity, and after that, they rushed to the Police. However, the police reached Vinod’s house after a considerable delay. The main door of the house was locked, and Vinod had bolted the door of the room from the inside. Then, with the help of the neighbors, the police broke open the door, and upon entering the room, they noticed that Laadli was lying naked and motionless on a bed, and even Vinod was half naked and was lying over Laadli. By the time Laadli’s rescue was attempted, Laadli had already been raped from both of her orifices and was non-reactive.

5. The Police Officials informed their seniors, and the Deputy Superintendent of Police [DSP] Rahul Dev [PW23] arrived at the spot and took over the investigation and recorded the statement [Ext PW2/A] of Laadli’s father. On Ext PW2/A, the DSP made a note [vide Ext PW23/A] that he had received information that one girl ‘M’, daughter of the complainant, resident of Madhya Pradesh, and currently residing near Chhawani Mohalla, aged five years, had been raped and murdered, and after receiving such information, he had reached the spot in his official vehicle.

6. The Investigator DSP Rahul Dev [PW23] further noted that he had inspected the crime scene and found a prima facie offence of rape and murder. After that, the FSL team was also summoned to inspect the spot. DSP Rahul Dev [PW23] sent this information to the police station through Constable Dharmender [PW4] for the registration of a formal FIR Ext PW3/A, which is a reproduction of the complaint recorded at th