SC commutes death sentence of man who raped, murdered 6-yr-old stepdaughter

On Thursday, the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of Waris, a 56-year-old man, who had raped and murdered his six-year-old stepdaughter in 2018. The court deemed his death sentence to be disproportionate given his good behavior in jail and lack of prior criminal history.

The incident occurred in Madhya Pradesh when the stepfather raped the child over months. When he discovered she had told her mother, he allegedly throttled her to death on April 21, 2018 - the same day the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted, which increased the punishment for rape of a girl under 12 years old to a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of death.

The court noted that as a stepfather, Waris betrayed the trust placed in him as a protector, transforming himself into the predator. The court cited the victim's "silence in life" as being "not silenced in law" through her mother's testimony and the marks on her body.

Waris had three former wives who left him due to his violent behavior, and by December 2018, the trial court had sentenced him to death for murder and rape. However, the Supreme Court found that the material for an individualized assessment of the accused was not properly considered at the time of sentencing.

The court directed a psychological evaluation, which confirmed Waris was mentally and physically fit. They also considered his troubled childhood, impoverished upbringing, and his satisfactory behavior towards other inmates. Balancing the aggravating circumstances against the mitigating factors, the court commuted Waris' death sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of remission.