Overview
- The High Court upheld Virender alias Bholu’s conviction but reduced his punishment to rigorous life imprisonment with at least 30 years’ actual incarceration without remission and enhanced the fine to Rs 30 lakh for the victim’s family.
- Kamla Devi, the convict’s mother, was acquitted after the court found no legally admissible evidence of conspiracy or destruction of evidence, remarking on a regional ‘Raja Beta’ mindset while noting her conduct was condemnable yet not criminal.
- Judges Anoop Chitkara and Sukhvinder Kaur said the murder followed panic to erase evidence of rape, cited the absence of violent prison conduct and criminal antecedents, and favored long incapacitation over an irreversible penalty when two views are possible.
- The bench directed that any recovered fine be disbursed in equal shares to the victim’s parents and siblings, with authorities tasked to help trace beneficiaries for payment.
- Conviction rested on last-seen and CCTV evidence and the recovery of the child’s body from the accused’s home, which the court found sufficient despite investigative lapses and weak forensic linkage.