25. The statement of objection filed by the respondent State in the present appeal seeks to draw force from the observations of the High Court noted above. In addition, the respondent State has defended the death sentence on the grounds that the actions of the appellant constitute a grave and uncommon crime endangering the moral fabric of the society. The submission is that the matter falls in the category of ‘rarest of the rare’ cases as the appellant, under the pretext of giving biscuits, committed rape and murder of a five-year old girl, and threw her dead body into the stream. The deceased R could not have provided resistance, much less provocation for the crime. Relying on the data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau which shows that an average of 77 acts of rape were committed daily in India in the year 2020, the counsel has sought a deterrent penalty for the actions of the appellant. 26. A perusal of pages 186 and 187 of this appeal would show that on the same day as conviction, the trial court imposed death sentence vide a common order. The appellant has submitted that this is in violation of Section 235(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which mandates that the accused must be heard on sentence. In Santa Singh v. State of Punjab,4 when the accused 4 (1976) 4 SCC 190 Criminal Appeal Nos. 1473-1474 of 2017 Page 24 of 30