New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the execution of Veerendra, who was sentenced to the gallows by a Madhya Pradesh trial court for the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in the state. The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, issued notice to the government of Madhya Pradesh on the convict's appeal and sought a response from it.
The Madhya Pradesh trial court had sentenced Veerendra to the gallows for the rape and murder of the minor girl seven years ago in Gwalior's Dabra.The order was confirmed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.The High Court had ruled, "Such types of crimes should be dealt with heavy hand. It is a rarest of rare case, so the punishment should not be lesser than the death penalty, which will act a deterrent to other accused in committing such kinds of heinous offences." The trial court and then the state High Court had convicted Veerendra under sections 376 (rape) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). (UNI)