State Of Punjab vs Sonu Singh

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The respondent-convict Sonu Singh was convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Special Court (POCSO), Ludhiana, under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, for the rape and murder of a minor girl aged approximately 4 years and 7 months. The Trial Court awarded the death sentence on both counts along with fines. The matter came before the Punjab and Haryana High Court by way of a reference under Section 366 CrPC, 1973 (Section 407 BNSS, 2023) for confirmation of the death sentence, and simultaneously by way of a criminal appeal filed by the convict under Section 415 BNSS, 2023 challenging the conviction and sentence.

The prosecution established its case through ocular testimony, medical evidence including post-mortem findings confirming sexual assault and death by throttling, forensic science laboratory reports, and DNA analysis which conclusively matched the semen recovered from the victim's vagina to the accused Sonu Singh. The accused had absconded after the crime and was apprehended approximately 20 days later from his native village in District Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh.

The High Court considered both the Murder Reference seeking confirmation of death sentence and the convict's appeal challenging conviction and sentence. The judgment addresses the legal standards applicable to confirmation of capital punishment, the sufficiency of circumstantial and forensic evidence, and the sentencing framework under the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code in cases involving the rape and murder of very young children.

Catchwords: death sentence confirmation rape and murder of minor POCSO Act circumstantial evidence DNA evidence throttling child victim Murder Reference capital punishment rarest of rare cases Section 302 IPC Section 6 POCSO