MUNNA PANDEY Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals are at the instance of a convict accused sentenced to death for the offence of rape and murder of a 10-year old girl named "X" and are directed against a common judgment and order passed by the High Court of Judicature at Patna dtd. 10/4/2018 in the Death Reference No. 4 of 2017 with Criminal Appeal (DB) No. 358 of 2017 by which the High Court dismissed the Criminal Appeal filed by the appellant convict herein and thereby confirmed the judgment of conviction and sentence of death passed by the Additional Sessions Judge- I, Bhagalpur in the Sessions Trial No. 581 of 2015 for the offence punishable under Ss. 302 and 376 resply of the Indian Penal Code (for short, 'IPC') and Sec. 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (for short, 'POCSO Act').

(2.) Before we proceed to give a fair idea as regards the prosecution case, it has to be mentioned that the High Court had before it not only the appeal filed by the accused but also a reference made by the Sessions Court for confirmation of the capital sentence under Sec. 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). Time and again this Court has pointed out that on a reference for confirmation of the sentence of death, the High Court is under an obligation to proceed in accordance with the provisions of Ss. 367 and 368 resply of the CrPC. Under these Ss. the High Court must not only see whether the order passed by the Sessions Court is correct but it is under an obligation to examine the entire evidence for itself, apart from and independently of the Sessions Court's appraisal and assessment of that evidence. From the long line of decisions which have taken this view it would be enough to refer to the decisions in Jumman v. State of Punjab, AIR 1957 SC 469; Rama Shankar Singh @ Ram Shankar Roy v. State of West Bengal, AIR 1962 SC 1239; and Bhupendra Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR 1968 SC 1438.

(3.) The facts of the case as recorded by the High Court in its impugned judgment are stated hereinbelow:-