RAJU versus STATE OF HARYANA

Citation: [2001] 3 S.C.R. 409 · Decided: 02-05-2001 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: M.B. SHAH · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 1 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

RAW 
A 
v. 
- _.,._ 
STATE OF HARYANA 
MAY 2, 2001 
[M.B. SHAH AND BRIJESH KUMAR, JJ.] 
B 
..,. ' 
Indian Penal Code-Sections 302 and 376-Death Penalty-Justification 
i 
of-Accused raped and thereafter committed murder of an 11 year old girl-
Accused admitted that he had committed murder as the girl threatened to 
disclose the incident to her family-Accused not a habitual criminal-Held, c 
this is not the rarest of rare crimes justifying death penalty . 
... 
The Appellant was prosecuted for commission of offences under Sections, 
' 
302, 376 and 363 of the Indian Penal Code. The prosecution stQry was that 
on 5.1.1997, the deceased, an eleven-year-old girl, had gone out to fetch milk D 
at about 6 p.m. PW2 saw the Appellant offering toffees to the deceased and, 
other children. Thereafter, the Appellant and the deceased went away. As the 
deceased did not come back till 9.00 p.m., PWl and some other persons 
searched for her through the night. The dead body of the deceased was found 
the next morning. Blood stained brick and blood was also found on the spot 
FIR was lodged by PWl on 6.1.1997 at 7.30 a.m. 
E 
" 
: 
The Appellant made an extra judicial confession before PW3 and 
admitted that he had committed rape and murder of the deceased. PW3 was 
known to the father of the ~ppellant The Appellant admitted that he gave two 
~ 
brick blows to the deceased as she stated that she would disclose the incident, 
at her house. 
F 
The Appellant requested PW3 to help him. 
A 
The FSL report established that that the pants and the shirt worn by 
I{ 
the Appellant had several stains of human blood. Semen lUld blood were found 
on the underwear of the Appellant. 
G 
...... 
The Appellant was convicted by the Sessions Judge under Sections 
<' 
302, 376 and 363 of the Indian Penal Code and was sentenced to death under 
Section 302, to 7 years rigorous imprisonment under Section 376 and to 3 
years rigorous imprisonment under Section 363. 
H 
409 
410 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2001] 3 S.C.R. 
A 
The Appellant filed an appeal to the High Court against the order of 
the Sessions Judge. The matter was also referred to the High Court for 
~-
confirmation of death penalty under Section 366 of the Code of Criminal 
Procedure. The High Court confirmed the conviction of the Appellant and the 
sentence awarded by the Sessions Judge. 
B 
The Appellant filed appeal before this Court. 
Dismissing the appeal against conviction and commuting death penalty 
to imprisonment of life, the Court. 
.> 
HELD : 1. The High Court after appreciating the entire evidence has 
c rightly confirmed the conviction order passed by the Sessions Court. The 
evidence on record, particularly the evidence of PWl and PW2 which clearly 
establishes that Appellant enticed deceased, a young girl aged about 11 years, 
to accompany him on 5.1.1997 at about 6 P.M. There is no reason to discard 
the extra judicial confession made by the Appellant before PW3. There is 
no explanation given by the Appellant as to how blood was there on the shirt 
D put on by him and how there were blood stains on the pant and underwear. 
[412-D-E] 
2. In the present case, from the confessional statement made by the 
,. 
Appellant, it would appear that there was no intention on the part of the 
Appellant to commit the murder of the deceased child. He caused injury to 
E the deceased by giving two brick blows as she stated that she would disclose 
the incident at her house. On the spur of the moment without there being 
any premeditation, he gave two brick blows which caused her death. There 
is nothing on record to indicate that the Appellant was having any criminal 
record nor he can be said to be a grave danger to the society at large. In these 
> 
F circumstances, it would be difficult to hold that the case of the Appellant 
would be rarest of rare case justifying imposition of death penalty. 
[414-B-D] 
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No. 
581of2000. 
G 
From the Judgment and Order dated 26.4.2000 of Punjab and Haryana 
High Court in Murder Reference No. 3 of 1999 and Crl. A. No. 463-DB/99. 
Tara Chand Sharma, Rajeev Sharma and Ms. Pankhuri Srivastava for the 
~ 
Appellant. 
H 
Gautam Awasthi and Mahabir Singh for the Respondent. 
RAJU v. STATE OF HARYANA [SHAH, J.] 
411 
.. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
A 
-~ 
SHAH, J. In Sessions Case No. 7 of 1997 after appreciating the evidence, 
the Sessions Judge, Gurgaon by order dated 7 .9.1999 convicted the appell

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