In the Case of Ajit Kumar vs The State Of Bihar, CRIMINAL APPEAL (DB) No. 888 of 2018, the Bench of the Patna HC consisting of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S. Kumar set aside a death penalty granted by the Trial Court.
One, Ajit Kumar was convicted by the Trial Court under Sections 363, 366A, 120B, 302, 376(D) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6(g) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 finding him guilty of kidnapping and raping a minor girl.
It was alleged that Ajit Kumar along with Vishal Kumar enticed a minor girl into having sexual intercourse with a third person by the name of Govind Prasad. Further, they caused death of the victim by pouring kerosene over her and setting her on fire.
The bench observed that the testimony of all the three prosecution witnesses, on the issue of kidnapping, sexual assault and murder, based on hearsay, is wholly uninspiring and even self- contradictory. There is no evidence to prove the allegations of sexual assault and rape, scientific or medical. The possibility of the victim being set on fire after having kerosene poured over her is also ruled out.
It is surprising how the Trial Court awarded the death sentence by terming this case as the “rarest of rare”, when the allegation of rape itself cannot be proved. The HC, therefore, acquitted the accused.
