Bombay High Court Quashes Death Sentence Conviction, Orders Retrial Over Forensic Gaps

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has quashed the conviction and death sentence of a man accused of the brutal 2022 rape and murder of a six-year-old girl, noting that the original trial was “vitiated” due to serious procedural lapses regarding forensic evidence and the questioning of the accused.

A bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram Shirasat, on Tuesday, remanded the case back to the special POCSO court only to the extent of summoning the chemical analyzer for examination and cross examination. It has also directed re-recording of the statements of the accused as per proper procedure.

The court has clarified that the matter is sent back to the special court only for “limited purpose” and the remaining evidence, that came on record, shall remain as it is.

The HC was hearing a petition filed by the accused and his mother who were convicted Pune Special Sessions Court in March 2024 for the aggravated sexual assault and murder of his minor neighbor. The man was sentenced to death whereas the mother was sentenced to seven years in prison for concealing the body.

A six-year-old girl’s body was found in the bushes near a Zilla Parishad school in a village in Maval taluka on August 3, 2022.

The plea stated that the trial court relied on 12 Chemical Analyzer (CA) and DNA reports which were admitted as evidence during the investigating officer’s testimony without summoning the doctors / analyzers who prepared the same.

Their advocate, Rebecca Gonsalves, submitted that this deprived them of a chance of cross examination, which is essential for a fair trial.

The court observed that the trial court committed a “grave error” by admitting these reports directly. The court noted: “Such a course of action was clearly not open for the Sessions Court, for the reason that the Supreme Court has laid down that such witnesses ought to be court witnesses even if the prosecution fails in its duty to summon such crucial witnesses.”

By failing to call the experts, the trial court deprived the defense of the opportunity for cross-examination, which the High Court stated “led to failure of justice”.

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Furthermore, the Court found that the mandatory recording of the accused's statements under Section 313 of the Cr.P.C. (now Section 351 of the BNSS) was fundamentally flawed. The trial judge had reportedly put questions to both accused persons jointly rather than individually.

“Anything short of [ascertaining the truth] would vitiate the entire process” the bench remarked, ordering that fresh, separate statements must be recorded for both defendants.

The court also granted bail to the mother, noting she has already served over three years of her seven-year sentence for bailable offenses. The Sessions Court has been directed to conclude the fresh proceedings and pass a final judgment by August 2026.

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