Calcutta HC Commutes Death Penalty For Child’s Rapists, Cites Possibility Of Reform

Last Updated:July 27, 2025, 01:28 IST

The court imposed a non-remittable life sentence of 60 years, effectively ensuring the men remain in prison for the remainder of their lives

Despite arguments from the defence about inconsistencies in witness statements and procedural lapses during evidence collection, the High Court found the chain of circumstances 'complete and convincing'. (File pic)

The Calcutta High Court has spared two men the noose for the gang rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl, citing the potential for their reformation, but ruled that a regular life sentence would not suffice given the “depravity" of the crime. Instead, the court ordered both convicts to remain behind bars for 60 years without the possibility of remission.

A division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi pronounced the judgment while deciding the death reference and appeals filed by the convicts, Fagun Mandi alias Pui and another, against their 2023 death sentence handed down by a Jhargram trial court.

The victim had gone missing on the morning of November 7, 2021.

Witnesses testified that she was last seen with Mandi, who had purchased chocolate and tobacco before walking towards the fields with the child. Her body was discovered days later in a canal within a paddy field, the location revealed during custodial interrogation of the two accused.

According to the post-mortem report, the minor had suffered brutal sexual violence, including internal injuries caused by the forced insertion of a bamboo stick, and had ultimately been strangled. Items like a chocolate wrapper, a burnt bidi stub, and a torn cloth were recovered based on the appellants’ own disclosures. A locket with the girl’s photograph was also found at the home of the second appellant.

Despite arguments from the defence about inconsistencies in witness statements and procedural lapses during evidence collection, the High Court found the chain of circumstances “complete and convincing". The court noted that neither appellant could explain their presence with the victim nor the recovery of incriminating items linked to them.

However, while affirming the conviction under charges of gang rape, murder, kidnapping, and destruction of evidence, the High Court declined to uphold the death penalty. Referring to the Supreme Court’s decision in Manoj & Others v State of Madhya Pradesh, the bench emphasised that capital punishment must be reserved for cases where the option of reformation is clearly foreclosed.

In this case, the State’s report noted that both men hailed from impoverished and socially backward backgrounds, had no previous criminal history, and had shown signs of improvement in custody. One was undergoing psychiatric treatment; the other was described as a slow learner with a speech disability.

“We are not in a position to arrive at a conclusive finding that the possibility of reformation of both the appellants stands foreclosed," the bench observed. But it also added that a simple life sentence would not meet the ends of justice, calling the crime “a demonstration of depravity which shocks the conscience".

As a result, the court imposed a non-remittable life sentence of 60 years, effectively ensuring the men remain in prison for the remainder of their lives. It directed correctional authorities to reflect the modified sentence in official records and set off the time already served.

Salil Tiwari

Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr...Read More

Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr...

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