Pune POCSO Court Awards Death Penalty to 65-Year-Old, Says Convict "Passed the Stage of Reformation" [Read Judgment]

A Special POCSO Court in Pune has sentenced a 65-year-old labourer to death for the rape and murder of a three-year-old girl, holding that the case fell within the ‘rarest of rare’ category and that the accused had “passed the stage of reformation.”

Special Judge S.R. Salunkhe, presiding over the POCSO Court, Pune, convicted the accused under Sections 137(2), 140(1), 74, 64, 65(2), 103(1) and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and under Sections 4, 6, 8 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, sentencing him to death under Section 42 of the POCSO Act.

According to the prosecution, the accused, who was working as a daily-wage labourer near a temple renovation site, was last seen on CCTV footage walking with the child towards a tin-sheet shed on 01.05.2026. He emerged alone roughly 39 minutes later. When the child could not be located, a search was launched, and she was subsequently found dead in the shed. Medical evidence showed she had been raped, sexually assaulted, and killed by asphyxiation, with her clothing gagged deep into her mouth. The post-mortem also recorded multiple external injuries on her body.

The prosecution’s case rested on a chain of circumstantial evidence, including CCTV footage capturing the child and the accused proceeding together towards the shed and the accused emerging alone, the testimony of three child witnesses who had seen them together, DNA and forensic reports matching the accused’s profile to the sexual assault, and the recovery of material seized from the scene. The defence had argued that the prosecution’s case suffered from contradictions and that the circumstances did not conclusively establish guilt, but the Court found the chain of evidence complete and unbroken, leaving no hypothesis consistent with innocence.

The trial concluded in just 16 days, with 55 witnesses examined without a single adjournment sought by either side. The Court specifically commended the police for their investigation, the witnesses for cooperating despite the sensitivity of the case, and both the prosecution and defence counsel for conducting the trial without delay.

While determining the sentence, the Court noted that the accused was given repeated opportunities, including through cross-examination, the recording of his statement, and an opportunity to file an affidavit, to place mitigating circumstances on record, but none were forthcoming. The Court also took note of the accused’s prior conduct, recording that he had previously been prosecuted for outraging the modesty of a relative and of another woman, though he was acquitted in both cases for want of sufficient evidence. The Court also noted testimony regarding an incident of sexual misconduct involving an animal, observing that “the accused carries criminal antecedents, though the final results may be in his favour.” It further observed that the accused showed no remorse during the trial, concluding that he “has passed the stage of reformation and he will remain as menace to the society.”

Holding that no mitigating circumstances had been placed on record despite repeated opportunities, the Court observed that “the brutality of the crime, the manner by which it was committed and inhuman behaviour of the accused with a child of 3 years takes him away from thinking of any alternative to death sentence,” and that the possibility of life imprisonment, the normal rule, stood “unquestionably foreclosed in this case.”

The Court further remarked that it was bound to “perceive with its senses” the facts on record, including the injuries on the child’s body and the circumstances of the assault, before concluding that “the only punishment the accused can deserve is the death sentence.”

Convicting the accused on all charges, the Court held that the punishment of death, being the only adequate sentence for the offences proved, would apply commonly to all the offences in terms of Section 42 of the POCSO Act, which provides that where an act constitutes an offence under both the POCSO Act and the penal code, the offender is liable to the punishment that is greater in degree. The Court directed that the accused be hanged by the neck till death, and ordered that the matter be referred to the Bombay High Court for confirmation of the death sentence as required under Section 407 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, with the trial record to be transmitted immediately. It also directed that a copy of the judgment be sent to the District Legal Services Authority, Pune, to ensure adequate compensation is awarded to the victim’s family.

For the Prosecution: Shri Ajay Misar, Special Public Prosecutor

For the Accused: Shri Himmatrao Suryawanshi and Shri Jiwani, Legal Aid Defence Counsel

Case Title: State of Maharashtra v. Bhimrao Prabhakar Kamble, Spl. POCSO Case No. 467 of 2026

[Read Judgment]