Life Term Converted to 25 Years Without Remission in Rape and POCSO Conviction; Sentence Reduced by Supreme Court

A bench of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan heard the appeal against a Chhattisgarh High Court judgment that had upheld conviction and life sentence of the appellant under Section 376(3) IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act. The petition arose from Special Sessions (POCSO) Case No. 29/2022, where the Trial Court had convicted the accused and sentenced him to life imprisonment till natural death; the High Court had affirmed that conviction and sentence.

The Supreme Court granted leave and partly allowed the criminal appeal insofar as it modified the sentence. The Court noted that while conviction under Section 376(3) IPC and Section 6 POCSO was "not in dispute" and the offence was "grievous", mitigating factors concerning the appellant's age, absence of antecedents and conduct in custody warranted reduction of the sentence. The Bench invoked precedents including Shiva Kumar @ Shiva @ Shivamurthy v. State of Karnataka and exercised its power to re-fix the term of imprisonment. The Court observed and ordered that the mandatory life sentence "till natural death" should be converted to a fixed term and directed that the sentence be reduced "to a fixed term of 25 years actual imprisonment without remission."

The Court, in its reasoning, observed: “It is not in dispute that the appellant herein has been convicted under Section 376(3) of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment till natural death. The offence is also grievous. However, considering the age of the appellant and also that there are no antecedents and further his conduct during custody has been satisfactory, the sentence of life imprisonment till natural death can be converted to limited period. We hereby reduce the sentence awarded to the appellant to a fixed term of 25 years actual imprisonment without remission. This court can exercise such a power in view of law laid down in Shiva Kumar @ Shiva @ Shivamurthy v. State of Karnataka.”

Background: FIR No. 08/2022 dated 04.05.2022 led to the prosecution of the appellant for offences under Section 375 IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act, alleging sexual intercourse with a minor who was about 15 to 16 years old at the time of the offence. After trial, the Special Sessions (POCSO) Court convicted the appellant under Section 376(3) IPC and Section 6 POCSO and sentenced him to life imprisonment till natural death by judgment dated 13.07.2023. The High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur in CRA No. 1916 of 2023 dated 25.09.2024 upheld both conviction and sentence.

On special leave, the appellant's counsel did not dispute conviction but sought reduction of sentence on grounds of the appellant's youth, lack of prior criminal record and satisfactory jail conduct. The State opposed any leniency, stressing the youth of the victim and the gravity of the offence. The Supreme Court accepted that while the conviction and the grievous nature of the offence remained intact, the Court could temper the extreme sentence in light of mitigating features and binding precedent. The appeal was accordingly partially allowed: conviction and findings were left undisturbed, but the sentence was modified to 25 years' actual imprisonment without remission. No interim directions were made beyond the sentence modification; pending applications stood disposed of.

Case Details: Case No.: Criminal Appeal No. 5028 of 2025 (2025 INSC 1381) (Arising out of S.L.P.(Crl.) No. 9598 of 2025) Case Title: Deepankar Tikedar v. State of Chhattisgarh Appearances: For the Petitioner(s): Not reported For the Respondent(s): Not reported