SC restores conviction after 27 years

New Delhi, Mar 12 (UNI) After a protracted legal battle for 27 years, the Supreme Court restored the conviction and sentence of a man found guilty of raping and murdering a ten-year-old child.

A bench, comprising Mr Justice H K Sema and Mr Justice C K Thakker, on Thursday set aside the impugned judgement of Allahabad High Court acquitting the convict who was sentenced by the trial court to life imprisonment for murder and to seven years' rigorous Imprisonment for rape and restored the conviction and punishment given to the convict.

The crime took place on February 21,1979 in a remote village of Uttar Pradesh when Nanhi paid with her life for courageously resisting the rape attempt of the convict Desh Raj.

The court directed the state to take the convict into custody forthwith and comply with the order within one month.

The conviction in the case was purely based on circumstantial evidence and the Supreme court has observed: ''It is well settled principle that in order to sustain a conviction of circumstantial evidence, the prosecution must establish that the chain of circumstances only consistently point to the guilt of the accused and inconsistence with his innocence.'' ''After accumulative reading of evidence together with the medical evidence and non-explanation by the accused of scratch marks on his face, we are of the view that the prosecution has consistently established the guilt of the accused and inconsistence with his innocence and the High Court order acquitting the accused respondent is accordingly quashed and set-aside,'' the court concluded.

UNI AKS/SC MA AT KP0938