Delhi court awards 15-yr jail term to man for repeated rape of minor girl
New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) A Delhi court sentenced a man to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment for the alleged repeated rape of a minor girl in 2018, observing the offence not only intruded upon the survivor’s dignity but was also a crime against society.
Additional Sessions Judge Harleen Singh was hearing the case against Saddam Hussain who was convicted on charges of kidnapping and rape.
Additional Public Prosecutor Ankit Aggarwal sought the maximum punishment, saying the convict had committed a “grave offence.”
According to the prosecution, the 26-year-old convict, a tailor by profession, kidnapped the minor from her school, took her to his house and raped her over the course of three days in February, 2018.
“There are no two ways about the fact that sexual offence on a child is not only an unlawful intrusion upon her dignity and privacy but is also a crime against society, leaving an indelible mark on the child’s psychology. The court ought to deal with sexual offences against children with the utmost sensitivity,” the verdict dated November 20 said.
The court said it had to consider the principle of proportionality between the gravity of the offence and the sentence besides its deterrent effect.
“Convict is sentenced to 15 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) and Rs 25,000 fine for the offence under section 376 (2) (n) (repeated rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” the court held.
It further sentenced him to 15 years RI and Rs 25,000 fine under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
He was additionally sentenced to seven years RI and Rs 10,000 fine under IPC Section 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing a woman to compel her marriage) and five years RI along with Rs 10,000 fine under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC.
All sentences would run concurrently, the court ruled.
On the compensation towards the minor’s rehabilitation, the court said the girl, then a class 9 student, had suffered grave mental trauma and suffered loss of education and directed Rs 5 lakh to be paid to her.
