Rajasthan High Court Commutes Death Penalty for Wrongly Convicted Man, Orders Fresh Investigation
The Jaipur Bench of the Rajasthan High Court has commuted the death penalty of a man who was wrongly convicted for the rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl. The court has directed the Jhalawar Superintendent of Police to reopen the investigation.
The accused was originally sentenced to death by the trial court, a decision upheld by the High Court. However, upon further appeal, the Supreme Court confirmed the conviction but asked the High Court to reconsider the sentence.
In this reconsideration, the High Court found the case to be based solely on circumstantial evidence. DNA samples suggested the accused was falsely implicated, and the actual offenders were not charged. The court ordered the case to be reopened and directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to appeal against the conviction.
The High Court’s detailed judgment highlighted several investigation flaws indicating the false implication of the accused. The court examined death penalty precedents and discussed reasons for commuting the sentence to life imprisonment.
Key points included DNA profiles from the victim’s clothing matching two males but not the accused. The accused was not given a chance to explain the DNA evidence, and his school records showed he was a minor at the time of the crime. Additionally, he had no criminal background and had shown good conduct in jail.
The Bench emphasized the principle that it is better for a hundred guilty persons to go free than for one innocent person to be wrongly convicted. They noted that an overzealous prosecution had likely led to the wrongful conviction.
The High Court also pointed out that important facts about the accused’s age and DNA evidence were not presented to the Supreme Court, and the accused had no legal assistance during the apex court hearings.
Consequently, the Secretary of the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority was instructed to appeal the High Court’s previous judgment that converted the death sentence to life imprisonment. Additionally, the Jhalawar Superintendent of Police was directed to reopen and freshly investigate the involvement of the two actual offenders whose DNA was found on the victim.
Case Title: Bablesh Patel v. The State of Madhya Pradesh
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