The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday upheld the acquittal of a youth from Dindigul district, who was accused in the rape and murder of a girl in 2019, and dismissed the appeals preferred by the State and the girl’s parents.
The case of the prosecution was that the 12-year-old girl was at her home and her parents had left for work on the day of occurrence. When the mother returned home at around 5 p.m. she found her daughter lying in the bedroom with bleeding injuries.
It was said that a live electrical wire was inserted into her nose and mouth. Blood stains were found all over her body. When the woman switched off the power and lifted her daughter, she realised that the girl was dead.
A police complaint was lodged. During investigation, the police claimed, they found that a 17-year-old boy, living near her house, committed the crime. The boy was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to an observation home.
The trial court had held that the charges were not proven beyond doubt and acquitted him. Both the State and the parents of the girl preferred appeals against the verdict. They said the trial court failed to consider the overwhelming evidence against the accused.
A Division Bench of Justices S. Vaidyanathan and G. Jayachandran held that the evidence was not specific. The trial court had rightly found that the discrepancies did not conclusively prove the guilt of the accused. On reappreciation of the evidence, the court had no other reasonable alternative view than the view taken by the trial court, the judges observed and dismissed the appeals.
Published - December 10, 2021 10:23 pm IST
