Punjab & Haryana High Court Commutes Death Sentence in Rape, Murder Case Of 5-Yr-Old

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has commuted the death penalty awarded to a man convicted for the rape and murder of a five-and-a-half-year-old girl to life imprisonment.

The Court held that the convict must remain in prison until he is close to the “sunset of his virility,” noting that the case did not meet the rarest of rare standard required for capital punishment.

While acknowledging the extreme brutality of the offence, the Bench observed that lifelong incarceration would adequately serve the ends of justice.

It clarified that remission should not be considered prematurely.

[State of Haryana v. Virender @Bholu]