HC Commutes Death Penalty Citing Lack of Education

The Court Said While the Act Was Undeniably Brutal, the Accused 'Has Not Committed Brutality'

- Shruti Tomar

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh high court has commuted the death sentence of a 20-year-old man convicted of raping a four-year-old girl, who was left permanently disabled due to the crime, noting that "his parents never tried to give him education" and that he was "never given the proper atmosphere to grow up".

The court said while the act was undeniably brutal, the accused "has not committed brutality".

According to an FIR lodged by Khandwa police on October 31, 2022, Rajkumar alias Rajaram, who belonged to the Scheduled Tribes, abducted a four-year-old girl, who also belonged to the tribal community, while she was sleeping in her hut with her parents on October 30, 2022.