Gujarat High Court Overturns Death Sentence, Acquits Man in Minor's Rape-Murder Case
The Gujarat High Court has acquitted a man who was on death row for the 2018 rape and murder of a minor girl, citing "unreliable" and "legally inadmissible" DNA evidence. The court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the charges with credible evidence, highlighting serious legal flaws in the seizure and handling of forensic materials.
Court Cites Legal Lacunae in Evidence Seizure
A Division Bench comprising Justice Ilesh J Vora and Justice RT Vachhani delivered the judgment, setting aside the 2020 conviction and death penalty imposed by the Additional Sessions Court in Rajkot. The court emphasized that the blood-stained clothes, which were central to the conviction, were seized by a different police station than the one where the POCSO case was registered. This raised questions about the chain of custody and admissibility of the evidence.
The judgment stated, "The panchnama of seizure of clothes was allegedly drawn by another police station. How these clothes came into the hands of the POCSO case police station and were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory has not been proven. This constitutes a serious legal lacuna."
DNA Evidence Deemed Unreliable Due to Lack of Expert Testimony
The court further criticized the DNA evidence, noting that the DNA report was part of the Investigating Officer's deposition without examination of the forensic expert. It held that DNA profiling cannot be admitted as evidence unless the prosecution proves the techniques were reliably applied by a qualified expert.
"The DNA report is in the deposition of the IO, but the scientific officer and doctor who took the samples were not examined. Without this, the DNA evidence is unreliable and cannot solely support a conviction," the judgment explained. The court referenced Supreme Court observations that forensic science, while powerful, requires strict procedural safeguards to be valid.
Background of the Case and Prosecution's Claims
The prosecution alleged that on February 9, 2018, the convict kidnapped a minor girl from near her parents' workplace, took her to an isolated building, sexually assaulted her, and killed her when she tried to scream. The body was found on February 12, with post-mortem revealing head and facial injuries as the cause of death and signs of sexual assault.
After the crime, the convict was arrested by another police station for a separate murder and robbery case, where his blood-stained clothes were seized. He was later arrested in the POCSO case via a transfer warrant. However, the court found the circumstantial evidence inconclusive and the core evidence not credible.
Court's Directive on Release of the Accused
The High Court directed that since the accused is currently in jail, he can be released "unless his custody is necessary in any other case." The judgment underscored that criminal law does not permit convictions based on conjectures, even in cases involving horrific crimes, and stressed the need for admissible and reliable evidence.
This ruling highlights the critical importance of proper evidence handling and expert testimony in legal proceedings, particularly in sensitive cases under the POCSO Act.
