The Orissa High Court commuted the death sentence of Sk Asif Ali (37) to life imprisonment. He, along with Sk Akil Ali (38), convicted by the Pocso Court in Jagatsinghpur for the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl. The crime occurred on November 21, 2022.
Cuttack: The Orissa High Court, On June 20th, reduced the death sentence of Sheikh Asif Ali to life imprisonment. Ali had been convicted of the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl. In its judgment, the court highlighted that Ali regularly performed Namaz multiple times a day and expressed his willingness to accept the punishment, indicating he had “surrendered before God.” This demonstrated his remorse and potential for reform.
Thus justifying the commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment, The bench, consisting of Justice SK Sahoo and Justice RK Pattnaik, remarked,
“Punishment should not be excessively harsh and must align with the principle that forbids punishing the innocent. Any punishment exceeding what is warranted by the criminal conduct is essentially punishment without guilt. There is no substantial evidence suggesting that the appellant is beyond the possibility of reform and rehabilitation,”
On August 21, 2014, a tragic incident occurred involving a 6-year-old victim and her minor cousin. The young victim and her cousin went to buy chocolates around 2 PM, but by 3 PM, the girl had not returned, causing concern for her family.
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A search initiated, and the girl eventually found naked and unconscious in a narrow part of Sheikh Khairuddin’s house. She immediately taken to a primary health care center and then referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Unfortunately, while being transported to the hospital, the victim succumbed to her injuries.
The victim’s cousin later disclosed that Sheikh Asif Ali and Sheikh Akil Ali forcibly taken her away. A complaint filed by the victim’s family, leading to a case being registered against the accused under Sections 302, 376-D, and 376-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The investigation and post-mortem report revealed that the accused gagged the victim’s mouth, lifted her in their arms, raped her, and then strangulated her to death.
Although the trial court initially convicted the accused under the relevant Sections of the IPC and POCSO, the Orissa High Court, after re-evaluating the evidence and testimonies, acquitted Sheikh Akil Ali of all charges due to insufficient evidence.
Regarding Sheikh Asif Ali, the court stated,
“The prosecution failed to prove the charge under Section 376-D of the IPC against the appellant Sheikh Asif Ali. He is acquitted of this charge but found guilty under Sections 302 and 376-A of the IPC, as well as Section 6 of the POCSO Act.”
The Orissa High Court, while commuting the sentence, expressed that there was insufficient convincing evidence to indicate that the individual named Asif was beyond reform and rehabilitation.
The court stressed that capital punishment should only be used in the “rarest of rare” cases when life imprisonment is not enough. Although the court acknowledged the heinous nature of the rape of a minor girl, it highlighted that the case was based on circumstantial evidence and lacked evidence of premeditation. The court stated that while the crime committed in a most horrendous and barbaric manner against a six-year-old girl, there was no material on record to suggest that it was planned in advance.
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The court observed that both the appellants noticed the deceased girl in the company of her cousin while they returning after buying chocolates. They then lifted the girl away and subjected her to rape, resulting in injuries to different parts of her body. Her cause of death was due to shock and haemorrhage resulting from the injuries to her genital tract, which were fatal in the ordinary course of nature.
Interestingly, no harm caused to the minor cousin who was present at the time, indicating that the appellants aware that harming the cousin would likely expose their misdeeds to family members and others.