SC stays execution of death row convict in rape-cum-murder case

The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of a death row convict who was awarded capital punishment for raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh last year.

A bench comprising justices A M Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra also issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh Police seeking its reply on the appeal filed by convict Bhagwani who has challenged the state high court's May 9 verdict upholding the death penalty awarded to him by the trial court.

"There shall be a stay of execution of the death sentence of the petitioner (Bhagwani). Let the original records be called from the high court," the bench said.

Besides Bhagwani, the high court had also upheld the death penalty awarded by the trial court to another convict Satish in the case.

According to the police, both of them had raped the minor girl, who was residing in their village along with her family, during the intervening night of April 14-15 last year and then killed her.

The girl had gone to attend a ceremony in the village along with her parents on April 14 last year and went missing from there, the police had said, adding that her body was recovered the next morning.

The police had said that during the probe, it was found that the duo, who were initially absconding from the village, had a verbal altercation with the victim's father a day prior to the incident.

Both of them were later arrested and the trial court awarded death sentence to them. They had denied the charges against them.

The capital punishment was confirmed by the high court which had taken note of the "alarming increase" in the incidents of child rape and rising anger in the society over such offences across the country.