INDIA: HC UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR RAPE, MURDER

the Orissa High Court in India upheld a death sentence awarded by a lower court and confirmed the conviction terming it as “rarest of the rare” incident. Purna Chandra Kushal, alias Chhotu, a Chhatisgarh native, was arrested by the Sundargarh police in November 2002 on charges of raping and killing a five year old girl. The Rourkela additional sessions court convicted the accused and sentenced him in December, 2004. The death sentence of the lower court was referred to the High Court for confirmation, and the convict also appealed to the High Court. Dismissing the appeal of the accused and upholding the lower court’s conviction order, the bench of Justice B. P. Das and Justice M.M. Das confirmed the death sentence and felt that the crime was heinous and deserved capital punishment.