Hyderabad: In a significant ruling, the Telangana High Court has commuted the death sentence awarded to a 62-year-old rape and murder convict to life imprisonment.
Earlier, the Sangareddy POCSO Special Court had sentenced Gaffar Ali (62) to life imprisonment for raping and brutally murdering a five-year-old girl. After which, Ali appealed to the high court.
The incident occurred in a village in Ramachandrapuram mandal on October 16, 2023, under the BDL police station area of Sangareddy district.
While commuting the sentence, the high court ruled that Ali would not be eligible for parole, pardon, or remission for 15 years. A division bench comprising Justice K. Surender and Justice J. Anil Kumar conducted a detailed hearing and delivered its verdict after reviewing the evidence presented by both sides.
The prosecution established that the girl was last seen with Ghaffar Ali on the day of the incident. Statements of witnesses and the postmortem report confirmed that the victim was offered a cold drink by the accused before the crime.
The report revealed that the girl died of shock resulting from the assault. It also highlighted injuries on the victim's cheek, eye, throat, and genitals, which were reportedly inflicted as the accused gagged her mouth during the attack. CCTV footage and forensic findings further corroborated the prosecution’s case.
Factors noted by the bench while commuting Ali's death penalty to life sentence:
- Ghaffar Ali had no prior criminal antecedent.
- Absence of a premeditated plan to kill the victim.
- Medical evidence did not conclusively state that the girl died due to violence inflicted after the assault.
“While the evidence unequivocally proves the crime, absence of specific aggravating factors such as a deliberate intent to murder and Ghaffar Ali's lack of a prior criminal history, led to the reduction in sentence,” the judgment read.
The court clarified that while the death penalty was commuted, Ali would not be eligible for any form of release for the first 15 years of his imprisonment. The order has explicitly barred parole, remission or pardon during this period, ensuring that he serves the sentence under stringent conditions.
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