Uttarakhand to file review plea in SC against acquittal in 2014 rape, murder case

“The justice department has been directed to file a review petition in the case and ensure a conviction,” he said. Dhami added the government would deploy its best legal team. “Those who commit such heinous acts in Devbhoomi [Uttarakhand] will not be spared. The government stands firmly with the victim’s family.”

Dhami said the administration is conducting verification drives across the state to identify and keep a check on anti-social elements.

The nine-year-old girl’s body was recovered five days after she went missing in November from Nainital’s Kathgodam, triggering outrage. In March 2016, a special court sentenced Akhtar Ali to death and co-accused Prem Pal to five years’ rigorous imprisonment. The Uttarakhand high court upheld Ali’s death sentence in 2019.

On September 10, the Supreme Court set aside the conviction and acquitted Ali. A bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta rejected the DNA analysis cited as proof against Ali. It noted a botany expert lacking expertise in human DNA profiling conducted it.

The Supreme Court warned trial courts against the mechanical application of capital punishment without ensuring the highest standards of proof and procedural fairness. It said this undermines the rule of law and risks the gravest miscarriage of justice by extinguishing a human life irretrievably.

Hundreds of people took to the streets on Sunday and submitted a memorandum asking the state government to challenge the verdict. The girl’s uncle threatened self-immolation if a review plea was not filed.