Supreme Court stays execution in Bhopal child rape-murder case:Convict in 5-year-old girl’s killing had received triple death sentence

The Supreme Court has stayed the death sentence of Atul Nihale, who was convicted of the rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl in the Shahjahanabad area of Bhopal. While hearing Nihale’s petition, the apex court stayed the execution of the death sentence. The court will now examine the case in detail on issues related to sentencing and conviction. The order was passed by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria. The bench has temporarily stayed the execution of the death sentence and scheduled further hearings in the matter. The court will decide, based on records and arguments from both sides, whether any intervention is required in the decisions of the lower courts. Special court had pronounced triple death sentence In this heinous case, the special POCSO court in Bhopal had delivered a historic verdict on March 18, 2025. The court sentenced accused Atul Nihale to death under three separate sections. This was the first case in Madhya Pradesh after the implementation of BNS where a convict was awarded the death penalty three times under different sections. In addition, the court had sentenced the accused to life imprisonment under two sections and seven years’ imprisonment each under two other sections. High Court said — Even imagining it sends shivers down the spine The accused had challenged the Special Court’s verdict in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. While hearing the appeal, a division bench of the High Court in Jabalpur upheld the death sentence and confirmed the lower court’s decision. In its order, the court said the accused had committed an extremely inhuman and brutal crime. The High Court also observed that the pain suffered by the five-year-old girl is difficult to express in words, and even imagining it sends shivers down one’s spine. Considered a rarest of rare crime The special court in Bhopal had classified the offence as a rarest of rare case in its judgment. The court had said that if there were a punishment harsher than the death penalty, the accused would have deserved that as well. The court stated in its order that if society cannot provide a safe environment where children can play safely in and around their homes, then even imagining a civilised society becomes difficult. The incident occurred on September 24, 2024 This incident occurred on September 24, 2024 in the Shahjahanabad area. During the afternoon, a five-year-old girl was with her grandmother at her uncle’s flat in the multi-story building. The grandmother had sent her downstairs to get school books, but she didn’t return for a long time. After this, the family and residents of the building started searching for her, but no clues were found. Later, the girl’s father filed a kidnapping report at the Shahjahanabad police station. Body was hidden in house water tank During police investigation, complaints of foul smell coming from the accused’s house were received. Upon searching, a foul odor was emanating from a plastic water tank placed above the bathroom. When the tank was brought down, the girl’s body was found inside. The body had been hidden by covering it with clothes and other materials. Investigation revealed that after the crime, the accused had kept the body hidden in the tank for three days. DNA and postmortem report became crucial evidence During the hearing, the prosecution presented a total of 22 witnesses in court. The post-mortem report and DNA investigation proved to be the most crucial evidence in this case. The investigation also revealed that after raping the girl, the accused had stabbed her multiple times with a knife, which led to her death. Blood-stained clothes and the knife used in the crime were also recovered from the accused’s house. Mother and sister also sentenced In this case, the court had also found the accused’s mother Basanti Nihale and sister Chanchal Bhalse guilty. The investigation revealed that both had tried to conceal the crime while helping the accused. Based on this, the court had sentenced both of them to two years imprisonment. Now the final decision in the case will come only after the hearing in the Supreme Court. For now, the apex court has stayed the implementation of the death sentence and scheduled further hearings. The entire state’s eyes are on this case, as it is considered one of the most heinous crimes that have come to light in recent years.