PATNA: The Patna high court on Tuesday quashed the death sentence awarded to a man in a rape case by a Pocso court in Araria after just four days of trial in January this year, and ordered a fresh trial.
While quashing the Araria court’s judgment, an HC division bench of Justices A M Badar and Rajesh Kumar Verma observed that the death penalty was awarded “with ugly haste”. The court was hearing a criminal appeal filed by Md. Mejar, who was earlier held guilty and given capital punishment for raping a 12-year-old girl.
The HC held that the impugned trial was concluded within four days without giving any reasonable opportunity to the accused to furnish his defence. The HC said that the lower court had breached all the statutory provisions of the criminal court’s procedures as envisaged in the criminal procedure code.
Finding the entire trial violative of the principles of natural justice, the HC ordered restarting the trial in the case by the Pocso court, from the stage prior to the framing of charges. The HC also directed its Registrar General to circulate this judgment to all the judicial officers in the District Judiciary of Bihar.
While quashing the Araria court’s judgment, an HC division bench of Justices A M Badar and Rajesh Kumar Verma observed that the death penalty was awarded “with ugly haste”. The court was hearing a criminal appeal filed by Md. Mejar, who was earlier held guilty and given capital punishment for raping a 12-year-old girl.
The HC held that the impugned trial was concluded within four days without giving any reasonable opportunity to the accused to furnish his defence. The HC said that the lower court had breached all the statutory provisions of the criminal court’s procedures as envisaged in the criminal procedure code.
Finding the entire trial violative of the principles of natural justice, the HC ordered restarting the trial in the case by the Pocso court, from the stage prior to the framing of charges. The HC also directed its Registrar General to circulate this judgment to all the judicial officers in the District Judiciary of Bihar.