Knife Used To Enlarge Child’s Vagina Before Rape: Madhya Pradesh High Court Affirms Death Sentence In ‘Rarest Of Rare’ Case

“Use of a knife to enlarge the vaginal opening of an infant girl reflects barbarity beyond human comprehension,”  In a judgment marked by searing language and uncompromising condemnation, the Madhya Pradesh High Court confirmed the death sentence imposed on Atul Nihale for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl, holding that the crime represents a level of depravity that leaves “no alternative option unquestionably foreclosed except capital punishment.”

Deciding Criminal Appeal No. 3732 of 2025 along with the statutory reference under Section 407 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the Division Bench of Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice Ramkumar Choubey dismissed the appeal against conviction and affirmed the findings of the Special POCSO Court, Bhopal.

At the outset, the Court observed that the present case was not merely about rape and murder, but about “a calculated, lust-driven act of extreme sexual violence inflicted upon a completely defenceless child, followed by concealment of her body within the accused’s own residence.”

“The manner of assault, not merely the fact of death, defines the gravity of this crime”

The prosecution case arose from a missing report lodged on 24 September 2024, when the five-year-old victim failed to return home. Two days later, the police, following a foul smell, discovered her decomposed body stuffed inside a plastic water tank in the bathroom of Flat No. F-2, a premises occupied by the accused along with his mother and sister.

The Bench laid significant emphasis on the medical evidence from AIIMS Bhopal, which revealed a level of violence rarely encountered even in cases of sexual homicide. The post-mortem findings recorded that the accused had used a kitchen knife to forcibly enlarge the vaginal opening of the child to facilitate penetration, causing catastrophic pelvic injuries.

The Court recorded in anguished terms:

“Use of knife inside the vagina to enlarge it for easing penetration on an infant girl is a barbarous act of a lusty mind. One can imagine the plight of the deceased girl child when she was sexually penetrated and how she would have breathed her last in a state of helplessness and excruciating pain.”

The injuries, including laceration of the perineum, rupture of the urinary bladder and uterus, and protrusion of intestinal loops, were held to be sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death, firmly establishing homicidal death following aggravated sexual assault.

“Dead body found inside the accused’s flat – silence offers no sanctuary”

The Court found the chain of circumstantial evidence to be complete, unbroken, and incapable of any hypothesis other than guilt. The recovery of the child’s body from the bathroom tank of the flat occupied by the accused was treated as a circumstance of decisive significance.

The Bench noted that the accused offered no explanation whatsoever as to how the dead body of a missing child came to be concealed inside his residence. Relying on Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra, the Court held that all five golden principles governing circumstantial evidence stood fully satisfied.

It was observed: “The evidence against the appellant extends far beyond a mere needle of suspicion. A complete and unbroken chain of circumstances establishes with absolute certitude that the appellant alone is responsible for the sexual assault and death of the infant girl.”

“DNA evidence provides scientific certainty where words fall short”

The forensic evidence further sealed the fate of the accused. DNA analysis conducted by the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory conclusively matched the Y-STR DNA profile of the accused’s blood sample with DNA found on the victim’s clothing, towel, pillow and shawl recovered from the scene.

While male DNA could not be extracted from vaginal swabs due to decomposition, the Court held that this “minor limitation does not dilute the overwhelming scientific linkage established through multiple other exhibits.”

The DNA report also confirmed the biological parentage of the deceased child, eliminating any doubt regarding identity.

“Recovery of knife and blood-stained clothes admissible under Section 23”

The accused’s disclosure statement under Section 23 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, led to the recovery of the knife used in the assault along with blood-stained clothing from the same flat. The Court upheld the admissibility of this discovery, reiterating the settled principle that “only that portion of the statement which distinctly leads to the discovery of a fact is provable.”

Reliance was placed on Palukuri Kottaya v. Emperor and Mohmed Inayatullah v. State of Maharashtra to reaffirm that such discovery provides a guarantee of truth.

“Depression is not insanity – mental health defence rejected”

The plea that the accused suffered from bipolar disorder or mental incapacity was decisively rejected. The Court accepted the medical testimony that depression during incarceration is neither uncommon nor equivalent to legal insanity, and that the accused was fully capable of understanding the nature and consequences of his actions.

The Bench noted that the accused actively participated in the trial and was competent to defend himself, thereby ruling out any mitigation on the ground of diminished responsibility.

“Poverty, family responsibilities and marriage cannot mitigate extreme depravity”

While considering the reference for confirmation of death sentence, the Court applied the balance-sheet test laid down in Bachan Singh and Machhi Singh. On one side stood the mitigating pleas of poverty, marital status and dependent family; on the other, the aggravating circumstances of the offence.

The Court found the aggravating factors overwhelming. The victim was a five-year-old child, the assault was grotesque and diabolical, the weapon used was a knife, the injuries were fatal and deliberate, the body was concealed for days, and the accused had criminal antecedents with multiple prior cases.

The Bench concluded:

“When examined from both the offender’s and the offence’s perspective, this case leaves no scope for leniency. It squarely falls within the rarest of rare category.”

“Justice must reflect society’s cry for accountability”

Before affirming the death sentence, the Court observed that sentencing is not an act of vengeance but a constitutional duty to ensure proportionality and justice.

It held:

“The sovereign objective of sentencing remains the assurance that crime meets its just desert, thereby satiating the cry for justice emanating from both the victim and the collective conscience of society.”

Finding no arbitrariness or disproportionality, the High Court confirmed the death sentence, dismissed the criminal appeal, and directed that the trial court records be returned forthwith.

Date of Decision: 22 January 2026