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SUJOY PAUL, PRAKASH CHANDRA GUPTA
Santosh Markam – Appellant
Versus
State of Madhya Pradesh – Respondent
JUDGMENT
Sujoy Paul, J. - The validity of judgment dated 24/01/2020 passed in S.T.No.22/2019 is under question in this reference and in the criminal appeal filed by the appellant whereby the Court below held the appellant guilty for committing offences under Section 376(AB) of Indian Penal Code and directed to impose death sentence. The appellant was also held guilty for committing offence under Sections 366 and 324 of Indian Penal Code for which he was directed to undergo sentence of 10 years R.I. and 3 years R.I. respectively with default stipulations.
FACTUAL BACKDROP :
2. The parents of the prosecutrix/victim are beggars. They were residing in a vacant place/jail ground near Bus Stand Narsinghpur. The incident had taken place in the intervening night of 24/06/2019 and 25/06/2019. Four days before the incident, certain other relatives of victim also reached the ground where victim and her parents were staying. They were also staying with the family of the victim.
3. As per the prosecution story, on 24/06/2019 at around 10:00 P.M. the parents of victim, the victim and her younger sister went to sleep. At around 2:30 A.M., the mother of victim (PW-3) found that victim is sleeping in h
The main legal point established in the judgment is the reliance on the DNA report to establish the guilt of the appellant under Sections 376(AB), 366, and 324 of the Indian Penal Code. The court als....
The prosecution must establish the identity and age of the victim beyond reasonable doubt in sexual offense cases, particularly involving minors, and the evidentiary value of DNA reports is contingen....
DNA evidence requires proper documentation and chain of custody to be admissible; conviction cannot solely rely on such evidence without corroborating proof.
The imposition of the death penalty requires the statutory provision of special reasons, and a balancing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances must be conducted.
The prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, especially when the primary witness turns hostile, and reliance on inconsistent testimony and improperly handled DNA evidence is insufficient....
The court held that the death penalty is inappropriate for a first-time offender without prior convictions; life imprisonment is more suitable given mitigating circumstances.
The victim's testimony suffices for conviction in sexual assault cases, affirming the importance of credible evidence despite procedural flaws in investigation.
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