Man gets 10-yr RI for minor's rape

13 Apr 2008, 0046 hrs IST,TNN

NEW DELHI: Terming it as an act of a "perverse mind", a sessions court in Delhi has convicted a man who raped a 14-year-old girl in the presence of her family members. The court has sentenced him to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment (RI).

"Sexual offence is altogether a different kind of crime which normally is a result of a perverse mind. A rapist degrades and defiles the soul of a helpless female and the impact is much more when such an offence is committed in the presence of other members of her family," additional sessions judge (ASJ) Dinesh Kumar Sharma observed in a recent order while convicting the accused.

The court held one Santosh (26), guilty under sections 376 (rape), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The ASJ also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict, apart from the prison sentence, and ordered that in case he fails to deposit the fine he would have to undergo an additional six months' imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, on September 24, 2004, Santosh, who was known to the victim, entered her Mukherjee Nagar residence in north Delhi and then raped her. Her cries for help brought the family members of the victim to the room and when they tried to prevent the brutal act, Santosh stabbed her mother with a knife. The accused also threatened all of them to remain mum about the incident and warned of dire consequences, the prosecution alleged.

"The courts have been bestowed a duty to implement the application of law and the object of framing of law is to protect the society and deter the criminals. The courts can achieve this object only by awarding appropriate sentence," the judge reasoned while sentencing Santosh to a 10-year term, looking at the brutality of the offence.

The prosecution submitted that the medical examination confirmed that Santosh had sexually assaulted the girl. "Keeping in view the facts and circumstances in mind, I am of the firm opinion that the prosecution has been able to prove its charges against Santosh beyond reasonable doubts," the ASJ noted.

In order to prove its case, the prosecution examined 13 witnesses including the victim herself and her family members.

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