Case Note & Summary
The case involves the ghastly rape and murder of two children aged 10 and 7 years. On 29 October 2010, Mohanakrishnan picked up the children from outside a temple and later picked up the appellant Manoharan. The children were taken to a remote area where the girl was raped. The accused attempted to poison the children with cow dung powder mixed with milk, and when that failed, they threw the children into a canal. The girl's body was recovered the next day, and the boy's body was recovered later. Mohanakrishnan was killed in a police encounter, leaving only Manoharan to be tried. The appellant gave a judicial confession under Section 164 CrPC on 20 November 2010, which was partially retracted in 2012. The trial court convicted the appellant under various sections including 302 IPC and awarded death sentence. The High Court confirmed the conviction and death sentence. The Supreme Court examined the evidence including the judicial confession, last seen theory, and DNA evidence. The Court found that the confession was voluntary and properly recorded, and the last seen theory was corroborated by multiple witnesses. However, the Court held that the death sentence was not warranted as the case did not fall within the 'rarest of rare' category, noting that the appellant was not the mastermind and there was possibility of reformation. The Court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment for 30 years without remission.
Headnote
A) Criminal Law - Judicial Confession - Section 164 CrPC - Voluntariness - Confession recorded after due caution and reflection time is admissible even if retracted later - Court held that the Magistrate followed proper procedure and the appellant admitted the confession under Section 313 CrPC, thus the confession was voluntary and reliable (Paras 47-63). B) Criminal Law - Last Seen Theory - Circumstantial Evidence - Last seen theory alone cannot form the basis of conviction without corroboration - Court held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant was last seen with the children, but this was corroborated by other evidence including the confession (Paras 38-46). C) Criminal Law - Death Sentence - Rarest of Rare Cases - Section 302 IPC - Death sentence requires consideration of aggravating and mitigating circumstances - Court held that the case did not fall within the 'rarest of rare' category as the appellant was not the mastermind and there was possibility of reformation, commuting death to life imprisonment (Paras 70-80).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the conviction and death sentence of the appellant based on judicial confession and last seen theory are sustainable in law
Final Decision
The Supreme Court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment for 30 years without remission, while upholding the conviction under Sections 376, 302, 302 read with 34, and 201 IPC.
Law Points
- Judicial confession must be voluntary and recorded after due caution
- Retracted confession requires corroboration
- Last seen theory alone insufficient for conviction without corroboration
- Death sentence requires 'rarest of rare' test
- Section 164 CrPC confession recording procedure
