HC sets aside death sentence of man accused of rape and murder

The Bombay high court on Thursday set aside the conviction and death sentence of a man accused of raping and murdering a six-year-old girl in 2016. While hearing a petition filed by the state, seeking confirmation of the death sentence, the HC set it aside on the grounds that the trial court had failed to properly frame charges against the accused under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the same were altered at a later stage of the trial.

A division bench of justice B P Dharmadhikari and justice PD Naik upheld the submissions made by the accused’s advocate, Dr Yug Choudhary, who claimed the trial court “had not conducted a fair trial” and sent the case back to it. Disposing off the petition, the bench held that the trial court could continue hearing the case from the time the charges were altered or conduct the trial afresh.

The accused, Atul Lote, who was then 28, worked on a poultry farm in Wada, and had allegedly lured the minor with chocolates, and raped her and then strangled her. He was tried and convicted in 2016.

Choudhary had argued that though Lote was charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the POCSO Act, when the trial began, the charges had been framed only under the IPC. He also said the charges were altered at a very late stage of the trial — after completion of the prosecution’s evidence. However, as the judge did not consider if such a “late and drastic change in the prosecution’s case” could adversely affect the possibility of a fair trial, Choudhary said the conviction and death sentence should be set aside.

First Published: Apr 26, 2019 02:21 IST