Odisha HC commutes death sentence of man, citing his 'frequent habit of prayers'

The Odisha High Court commuted the death of sentence of a man who was convicted for the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl. The court commuted his sentence to life imprisonment, citing his frequent prayers and his surrender to divine judgment.

The court noted that the accused “is offering prayer to God many times in a day and he is ready to accept the punishment as he has surrendered before God.”

On Friday, a division bench of Justices S K Sahoo and R K Pattanaik upheld the trial court’s conviction of Shaikh Asif Ali for the rape and murder of the child under sections 302/376 of the IPC and section 6 of the Pocso Act.

However, the court decided that Ali, who was 26 at the time of the crime in 2014, should be imprisoned for life, with the order specifying that the state government should pay Rs 10 lakh to the victim’s parents.

The bench further noted Ali's family circumstances, mentioning he has an elderly mother aged about 63 years, and two unmarried sisters who all depended on him as the sole breadwinner.

Ali was working as a color mistri in Mumbai, and his family’s financial condition was not good.