Chennai, Sept 10:
The Tamil Nadu Government has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking reconsideration of the verdict acquitting S. Dashwanth in the rape and murder case of a seven-year-old girl in Chennai.
The case dates back to 2017, when the girl went missing in Chennai. Her body was later recovered and Dashwanth was arrested and charged with kidnapping, sexual assault and murder. The trial court convicted him and awarded the death penalty. The Madras High Court subsequently upheld the conviction and sentence.
Dashwanth challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court. The apex court, after examining the evidence, set aside his conviction and acquitted him, citing shortcomings in the prosecution case.
One of the key issues was the non-production of CCTV footage from a temple that figured in the prosecution’s case. The absence of the footage and other concerns regarding the evidence raised questions about the investigation and prosecution case before the Supreme Court.
The acquittal triggered renewed concern among the victim’s family and those who had followed the case since 2017. The State Government has now approached the Supreme Court with a review petition, seeking reconsideration of the findings in the acquittal judgment.
The government is expected to place its grounds for review before the apex court and argue why the earlier verdict requires reconsideration. The review proceedings will determine whether there are sufficient grounds for the Supreme Court to revisit its judgment.
The development has once again brought the investigation and handling of crucial evidence in the case under scrutiny. The outcome of the review petition will be closely watched by the victim’s family and those following the long-pending case.