Death Sentence Commuted Despite Conviction for Rape and Murder of Six-Year-Old Child: Punjab & Haryana High Court Applies ‘Rarest of Rare’ Doctrine

Case Name: State of Haryana v. Anand Singh

Date of Judgment: 08 July 2026

Citation: MRC-6-2023 & CRA-D-1055-2023

Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Anoop Chitkara & Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri

Held: The Punjab & Haryana High Court held that while the prosecution had proved the guilt of the accused for kidnapping, aggravated penetrative sexual assault, murder and causing disappearance of evidence through a complete chain of reliable circumstantial evidence, the case did not satisfy the constitutional threshold of the “rarest of rare” doctrine warranting confirmation of the death penalty. The Court therefore upheld the conviction but commuted the sentence of death to imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s natural life without release, after balancing aggravating and mitigating circumstances and analysing extensive Supreme Court precedents on capital punishment.

Summary: The case arose from the brutal rape and murder of a girl aged 6 years, 11 months and 14 days, who was abducted from a labour colony in Palwal, sexually assaulted, strangulated to death and her body concealed in a pit. The Sessions Court convicted Anand Singh under Sections 302, 363 and 201 IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act, awarding him the death penalty, which was referred to the High Court for confirmation under Section 366 CrPC. The convict simultaneously challenged his conviction and sentence through a criminal appeal.

The High Court undertook an exhaustive re-appreciation of the evidence spanning more than fifty pages. It critically examined several lapses in the investigation, including irregularities in recording the complainant’s statement, delay in forwarding the FIR to the Magistrate, deficiencies in identification of material exhibits, and serious doubts regarding the genuineness of the disclosure statement allegedly leading to recovery of the victim’s body. The Court observed that the disclosure statement appeared fabricated because the forensic team had already reached the scene before the accused was shown to have been arrested, making the alleged recovery under Section 27 of the Evidence Act unreliable. Nevertheless, the Court held that these investigative defects did not destroy the prosecution’s case.

The Court instead found the prosecution’s case firmly established through other unimpeachable circumstances. It accepted the testimony of the independent shopkeeper who last saw the accused with the child shortly before her disappearance, held that the “last seen” circumstance stood fully proved, and further relied upon the DNA evidence linking the accused with the victim’s clothes. After scrutinising the chain of custody of the forensic exhibits, the Court concluded that the scientific evidence remained intact and independently corroborated the prosecution case despite the defects relating to the disclosure statement.

Turning to sentencing, the Bench undertook an extensive survey of Supreme Court jurisprudence on capital punishment, including decisions where death sentences in child rape and murder cases had been commuted to life imprisonment. Applying the principles laid down in Bachan Singh, Machhi Singh, Swami Shraddananda and subsequent precedents, the Court held that although the crime was exceptionally heinous and barbaric, the case did not fall within the narrow category of the “rarest of rare” cases warranting execution. At the same time, considering the gravity of the offence and the continuing threat posed by the convict, the Court concluded that ordinary life imprisonment would be grossly inadequate and directed that the convict remain in prison for the remainder of his natural life, without being released in the ordinary course.

Decision: The Punjab & Haryana High Court upheld the conviction of Anand Singh under Sections 302, 363 and 201 IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act, declined to confirm the death sentence, and commuted the punishment to imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s natural life, while disposing of the death reference and criminal appeal accordingly.