SC modifies sentence of convict in rape-cum-murder case, says he will remain in jail for 20 yrs

The Supreme Court on Friday modified its earlier verdict commuting the death sentence of a man who had sexually assaulted and killed a four-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh in April 2013, and said he would now be released after serving 20 years jail term for all the offences.

The apex court, in its April 19 verdict, had commuted the death penalty of convict Mohd Firoz into life imprisonment.

However, it had confirmed the award of life imprisonment for offence of rape and under some provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and consequently, the convict would have remained in jail till last breath.

A bench comprising Chief Justice U U Lalit and Justices S R Bhat and Bela M Trivedi took note of an interim application of the convict and treated it as the review petition and modified its order making clear that he would be getting 20-year jail term for all the offences.

"The upshot of this order would be that the appellant-petitioner shall undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 20 years for the offence under Sections 376(2)(i) and 376(2)(m) of IPC, and for a period of 20 years for the offence under Section 5 (i) and 5 (m) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act. The judgment and order dated April 19, 2022 passed by this Court...stands corrected and modified to the aforesaid extent. The rest of the judgment shall remain unchanged. The review petition stands allowed accordingly,” it ordered.

Writing the verdict, Justice Trivedi said if the sentence of life imprisonment, imposed by the sessions court and confirmed by the high court, is also affirmed by the top court for the offence of rape and under the POCSO Act then "the life imprisonment would mean imprisonment for the remainder of the petitioner's natural life, and in that case, the very purpose of the court in not imposing the sentence of life imprisonment for the remainder of petitioner's life for the offence under Section 376(A) of IPC, would be frustrated.”

Earlier, the top court had commuted the death sentence by citing Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde's famous lines “the only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”

"...one of the basic principles of restorative justice as developed by this court over the years also is to give an opportunity to the offender to repair the damage caused, and to become a socially useful individual, when he is released from the jail,” it had then said.

The court had observed “one of the most barbaric and ugly human faces has surfaced”.

“A tiny bud like girl was smothered by the appellant before she could blossom in this world. Any sympathy shown to the appellant would lead to miscarriage of justice. This court has not treated such cases as the rarest of rare,” it had said.

The lower court had awarded death penalty to the convict.

Co-accused Rakesh Choudhary was handed down seven-year rigorous imprisonment. The high court had acquitted Choudhary but had confirmed Firoz's death sentence.