In a significant verdict, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has commuted a death sentence to life imprisonment in a harrowing child rape and murder case while absolving the convict's mother of all charges. The bench, led by Justice Anoop Chitkara, delivered its ruling on December 23, 2025, marking a pivotal turn in the 2018 Palwal tragedy.
The Crime and The Court's Decision on the Convict
The case pertains to the brutal rape and murder of a five-and-a-half-year-old girl in Haryana's Palwal district on May 31, 2018. The victim, the daughter of the convict's employer, was five years, seven months, and 14 days old at the time of the crime. The convict, an employee in the victim's father's tent installation business, had taken the child to his home while her father was napping.
After committing the rape, the man stabbed the girl multiple times with a kitchen knife. In a desperate attempt to hide the evidence, he concealed her body in a container used for storing flour inside his house.
The High Court, while upholding the conviction, commuted the death penalty awarded by the trial court. It directed that the convict must remain in prison for the rest of his natural life without any possibility of remission. The bench justified this sentence as necessary to "safeguard the other girls on the street from the pervertedness of the convict."
The judges noted that while the rape and murder were undisputed, the murder itself appeared to be an act of panic to destroy evidence rather than a premeditated killing. This distinction played a role in opting for life imprisonment over the death penalty.
Acquittal of the Mother: The 'Raja Beta' Syndrome
In a more controversial part of the judgment, the High Court acquitted the convict's mother, who had been sentenced to seven years of imprisonment by the trial court. The lower court had found her guilty for resisting the search and switching off the electricity when villagers tried to enter the house to look for the missing child.
However, Justice Chitkara's bench took a different view. The court observed that the mother was merely "trying to protect her Raja beta" (king son). The judgment elaborated, stating, "Unfortunately, in this part of India, family members, especially mothers, often have such blind love for their precious sons that, no matter how imperfect or villainous they might be, are still regarded as Raja betas."
The bench concluded that her actions, driven by this "blind love," did not constitute a punishable offense under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), leading to her acquittal.
Evidentiary Chain and Legal Scrutiny
The court affirmed that the chain of circumstances conclusively proved the convict's guilt. Key evidence included villagers witnessing the convict leading the girl towards his house, the false explanation he gave to her father about dropping her at "the plant," and the eventual recovery of the child's body from a drum within his house compound.
Forensic analysis confirmed that bloodstains on the drum and a nearby stone matched the victim's DNA. While semen was not detected on swabs and the victim's DNA was not found on the convict's clothes, the court held these gaps were not fatal to the prosecution's case given the overwhelming strength of the other corroborative evidence.
The doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination had stated on oath that the possibility of rape and sexual assault could not be ruled out, which the court accepted.
This verdict underscores the judiciary's nuanced approach to sentencing in heinous crimes and offers a stark commentary on societal attitudes that sometimes place familial bonds above the pursuit of justice.
