The Supreme Court on Tuesday brought partial relief to one of the accused in a brutal 2019 rape and murder case from Telangana, while firmly upholding the core conviction for gang rape and murder. Sitting in criminal appellate jurisdiction, the Bench re-examined not just the sentence but also the reasoning adopted by the courts below, and found serious gaps in how certain charges were sustained.
Background
The case dates back to November 24, 2019. The victim, a woman who earned her living by selling utensils, was dropped near Yellapatar village by her husband in the morning. When she failed to return and calls to her phone went unanswered, a search was launched. Her body was discovered the next day in roadside bushes near Ramnaik Thanda.
Police alleged that three men followed her, dragged her into an isolated area, raped her one by one, and then slit her throat to silence her. The trial court convicted all three under murder and gang rape provisions of the Indian Penal Code, and also under sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Death sentence was initially awarded, later reduced by the High Court to life imprisonment without remission.
Court’s Observations
The Supreme Court, while examining the appeal of one accused (A2), expressed “very serious reservation” about how the SC/ST Act was applied. The Bench noted that although the victim’s caste was proved, there was no evidence that the accused knew her caste or targeted her because of it. “That knowledge is an essential ingredient,” the court observed, and without it, the conviction under the special law could not stand.
The judges were equally critical of the so-called “last seen together” theory and reliance on alleged confessions made in police custody. Such confessions, the Bench said, cannot be safely relied upon. Recoveries shown as discoveries under the Evidence Act were also found shaky, as the items were already in police control and not truly concealed.
However, the court made it clear that these flaws did not demolish the prosecution case entirely. Medical evidence, DNA reports linking two accused to the crime, witness accounts placing the accused near the spot, and the timing of death all formed a complete chain. As the Bench put it, these circumstances were enough to uphold convictions for murder and gang rape.
Decision
In its final order, the Supreme Court set aside the conviction of A2 under the SC/ST Act and also overturned his conviction for theft due to lack of proof. At the same time, it affirmed his guilt for gang rape and murder.
On sentencing, the Bench modified the punishment. Instead of life imprisonment till the last breath without remission, the court held that a fixed term of 25 years of imprisonment without remission would meet the ends of justice, considering mitigating factors like age, family responsibilities, and absence of prior criminal record. The appeal was thus partly allowed, concluding the court’s intervention in the matter.
Case Title: Shaik Shabuddin v. State of Telangana
Case No.: Criminal Appeal No. of 2025 (@ SLP (Crl.) No. 6850 of 2024)
Case Type: Criminal Appeal (Rape and Murder under IPC; SC/ST Act involved)
Decision Date: December 17, 2025