In April, the Supreme Court awarded a life term to...

In April, the Supreme Court awarded a life term to Kumudi Lal for raping and murdering a scheduled caste girl in a UP village in 1995. It, however, commuted the death sentence given by the Trial Court and Allahabad High Court to the accused man. The High Court said that Kumudi Lal acted "as a beast of prey, pounced upon an unprotected, helpless and physically weak young girl, and just to satisfy his sexual lust, defiled her" despite the best possible resistance coming from the victim. It had also observed that Kumudi Lal's "diabolic, vile and wicked deed was the worst form of degraded gender crime." A division Bench comprising Justice G. T. Nanavati and Justice S.P. Kurdukar agreed with the High Court's findings that the accused had raped and murdered the girl, but disagreed with its reasons for handing out the extreme penalty to him. The Apex Court said: "In our opinion, the High Court was wrong in confirming the death sentence without considering all the aspects disclosed by the evidence on record."