The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the supposed ‘minor’ accused of the brutal Kathua gang rape case will not be tried as a juvenile, as he was an adult at the time of the offence. The top court said that he will be tried afresh as an adult for the remainder of the trial.
Earlier, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Kathua as well as the high court had issued an order saying that Shubam Sangra, the ‘minor’ accused in the gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old, should be tried in the case as a juvenile.
Setting aside the previously issued orders regarding Sangra’s age, the Supreme Court said that the medical opinion regarding the age of an accused cannot be “brushed aside” and is considered on the basis of the evidence available.
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A bench comprising of Justices Ajay Rastogi and J B Pardiwala said, “Medical opinion regarding age in absence of any other conclusive evidence should be considered to determine the age range of the accused...Whether medical evidence can be relied upon or not depends on the value of evidence.”
“We set aside the judgements of the CJM Kathua and the high court and hold that the accused was not a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offence,” Justice Pardiwala said while pronouncing the verdict, as per PTI reports.
The sensational case of the gang rape and gruesome murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua was one of the most harrowing rape cases seen in the history of the country, with a very dramatic camera trial which went on for years.
The minor girl was kidnapped on January 10, 2018, and was raped in captivity in a small village temple after keeping her sedated for four days. She was later bludgeoned to death. A special court on June 10, 2019, sentenced three men to life imprisonment till their last breath for the ghastly crime that shook the nation.
(With PTI inputs)
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