Madras High Court acquits man awarded death sentence
Observing that the court is saddened to note that the investigation of the murder of a young girl has been done shabbily, the Madras High Court on Thursday acquitted a 25-year-old man, sentenced to death by a trial court for rape and murder of a minor girl in Chengalpattu.
Directing the state government to conduct an enquiry with regard to the lapses in the investigation of the case and take suitable action, a division bench comprising Justice PN Prakash and Justice V Sivagnanam also directed the government to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the girl as reparation not only for the failure to protect her, but also for failing to bring the perpetrator to guilt.
The bench made the observation while setting aside death sentence granted to the youth after finding that the prosecution during the trial had hidden two DNA reports which exonerated the accused.