Man sentenced to death on charges of raping five minors acquitted by HC
Chandran , 45, was a daily wage labourer, according to the prosecution. He had sexually assaulted five minor girls (all below 10 years) on various occasions between 2023 and 2024. In February 2024, the all women police arrested the accused. On April 24, the special court for exclusive trial of cases under Pocso Act in Sivaganga convicted and imposed the death sentence on the man.
The incident came to light when one of the girls, after attending an awareness programme on ‘good touch bad touch’ at her school, informed her teachers that the accused misbehaved with her and four other girls. The court also directed the state government to pay a compensation of Rs7 lakh each to the survivors. Madurai : Setting aside a trial court judgment which imposed death sentence on a man on charges of sexually assaulting five minor girls in Sivaganga district, Madras high court on Tuesday acquitted the man, citing fundamental failure in the conduct of the trial.
The judgment of conviction and the sentence of death are, therefore, liable to be set aside, the judges observed. The court, therefore, deliberately refrains from directing recovery of the compensation already paid to the children, the judges observed. Since the trial court had imposed the death sentence, the case was referred to the HC for confirmation. The man also preferred a criminal appeal challenging the conviction of the trial court. The proceedings have been reduced to a mockery of the constitutional guarantee of a fair trial and have resulted in a grave miscarriage of justice. The constitutional requirement of a fair, just and reasonable procedure assumes its highest significance where the sentence imposed is death. Accordingly, the court, holds that the conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court are vitiated by fundamental violations of the accused’s right to a fair trial. The court must also remember that the children shall not be made the casualties of an unsuccessful prosecution and it should not become a source of further suffering to the children.