3 weeks ago
High Court orders fresh hearing in 'Laadli' rape-murder case
A girl called Laadli was 12 years old when she went missing from her village one evening in January 2018.
Her body was found the next morning behind a village meeting place.
Two men were arrested, and in 2022 a court found them guilty and gave them the harshest punishment possible.
The men asked a bigger court to look at their case again.
That bigger court, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, found mistakes in how the police investigated and how the trial was run.
For example, the doctors who examined the girl's body never gave their final opinion because they never received a laboratory report.
The judges said the police were careless and that the accused were not given a fair chance.
They decided the harshest punishment should be taken away for now.
The case will be heard all over again, and the first court will look at new evidence before making a new decision.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court set aside the conviction and death sentence of two men and ordered a fresh hearing in the 2018 rape-murder of a 12-year-old girl.
Justices Anoop Chitkara and Ramesh Chander Dimri found serious but 'curable' lapses in the investigation and trial.
Doctors never gave their post-mortem opinion on the possibility of sexual assault because the Forensic Science Laboratory report was not forwarded to them.
The court called the lapse 'grossly negligent' and blamed the investigator, station house officer, and supervisory police officers.
The trial court must now record the doctors' evidence, re-examine the accused, and decide the case afresh without being influenced by its earlier judgment.
- Who
- Justices Anoop Chitkara and Ramesh Chander Dimri of the Punjab and Haryana High Court; two men, aged 35 and 25, convicted of the 2018 rape-murder of a 12-year-old girl referred to as 'Laadli'.
- What
- The high court set aside the conviction and death sentence and ordered a fresh hearing in the trial court.
- Where
- Punjab and Haryana High Court; the crime happened in an unnamed village, where the girl's body was found behind the village chaupal.
- When
- The order was issued on August 4; the crime occurred on January 13, 2018, and the trial court delivered its verdict in February 2022.
- Why
- The court found curable irregularities in the investigation and trial, including the failure to obtain the doctors' opinion on sexual assault after the Forensic Science Laboratory report.
Key facts
- Victim
- 12-year-old girl referred to as 'Laadli'
- Incident
- Left home on January 13, 2018, to throw garbage; body found the next morning behind the village chaupal
- Accused
- Two men, aged 35 and 25, convicted of rape-murder
- Trial court verdict
- Conviction and death sentence in February 2022
- High court order
- Conviction and death sentence set aside; fresh hearing ordered (August 4)
- Judges
- Justices Anoop Chitkara and Ramesh Chander Dimri
- Key lapse
- Doctors' opinion on sexual assault not obtained after the FSL report was not forwarded to them
- Court's observation
- 'Grossly negligent' investigation by the investigator, SHO, and supervisory officers
Quotes
Justice Anoop Chitkara
Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court
“"This court has ample power not to be a humble spectator in such a heinous, brutal crime, and is neither powerless by remaining silent nor can it ignore this lapse."”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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