Madras High Court upholds Death Sentence of man who Raped and Murdered 7-year-old girl

Mitali Palnitkar

Published On: January 13, 2022 at 18:00 IST

On January 12, 2022, the death sentence of Samivel alias Raja was confirmed by the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court. Raja was given death sentence by a Trial Court for the Rape and Murder of a 7-year-old girl in Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu.

The Bench hearing the Case comprised of Justices S Vaidyanathan and G Jayachandran.

On June 30, 2020, the Accused had taken the girl to a temple and committed the offence of penetrative sexual assault. Subsequently, he dashed her head against a tree, pierced her face and neck and threw her body in a dried pond. He also covered the girl’s body with leaves so as to clear all the evidences. Later, the girl’s father filed a ‘Missing child’ complaint.

The Trial Court had analyzed all the evidence provided by the Prosecution and the Accused was found guilty and was awarded 3 death sentences, two imprisonments of seven years and a life imprisonment under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences), IPC (Indian Penal Code) and SC/ST Act. An Appeal was filed by the Accused against the Conviction.

The High Court Bench was initially hesitant to confirm the death sentence but after examining the facts of the Case, it concluded that it was one of the rarest of the rare cases of Death Penalty and any other punishment would be inadequate.

The Bench went through the religious texts of Quran, Bible, the Mahabharata, and several Supreme Court Orders. It also observed the late German dictator Adolf Hitler and drew the conclusion that a man shall not be judged by his outer appearance.

The Bench stated, “If a person like the accused herein is allowed to survive in this world, he will definitely pollute the mind of other co-prisoners, who will be at the verge of release from jail in which he is confined. When the attitude of a man turns into the one of a beast having no mercy over other creatures, he should be punished and sent to the eternal world.”

The Court concluded, “Taking into consideration the brutality of attack, the barbaric manner in which the deceased child was murdered and the mental agony undergone by the parents, we find that except death sentence, no other sentence will be adequate.”