After an 11-year-old rape victim acknowledged that she was fortunately married, the Supreme Court on Monday diminished the convict’s sentence. A bench of Justices B R Gavai, P S Narasimha and Aravind Kumar maintained the conviction of the person beneath Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code.
In this case, the trial court docket in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh had acquitted the appellant. However, the state authorities filed an enchantment and the High Court reversed the acquittal and convicted the person and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for all times. The convict had moved the apex court docket in opposition to the Madhya Pradesh High Court judgment.
The prime court docket mentioned although the minimal sentence to be awarded was seven years, discretion is vested with the court docket which can impose a sentence of imprisonment for a time period of lower than seven years. “The prosecutrix has also appeared in the matter through the counsel. She has stated that she is happily married and is not interested in pursuing the matter further. The appellant has already undergone a sentence of more than five years,” the bench mentioned.
The prime court docket mentioned considering the info and circumstances of the current case “we maintain the conviction under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. However, we find that the sentence already undergone will be sufficient to subserve the ends of justice.”
The convict had moved the apex court docket in opposition to the Madhya Pradesh High Court judgment which had mentioned that the person had exploited the victim benefiting from her poverty.
“The respondent was the guardian of the prosecutrix; his wife has undertaken to educate her and to bring her up. The respondent-accused has exploited the victim taking advantage of her poverty and the fact that his wife has given refuge to the victim for the purposes of education when she was still a student of Class 11th. He has violated her by breach of that confidence,” the excessive court docket had mentioned.
The FIR within the case was lodged on October 22, 1996, by the mother and father of the victim when she had turn out to be pregnant and the accused and his spouse had supplied Rs 10,000 to facilitate her abortion.
(With inputs from PTI)
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