‘No amount can undo trauma’: Delhi court sentences man to life for raping minor, awards Rs 10 lakh to victim

The convict was sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and was awarded seven years in prison each for kidnapping and criminal intimidation of the Indian Penal Code. All of the sentences will run concurrently.

“A clear message that anyone who violates the POCSO Act will be held accountable for their actions must be sent to society at large by imposing a penalty that is proportionate to the act of sexual assault or sexual harassment. In the present case, the convict is found to be having perverse lust for sex,” the court said.

“As a result of the said incident, not only the victim but her entire family members have been subjected to humiliation and insult by the society and incident has left grave impact on her mental, physical and emotional being…,” it added.

The minor victim had earlier told the court that when she went to buy some articles for her younger brother, she met the accused. He lured her to go with him on the pretext of offering her biscuits, chocolates, and new clothes and offered to drop her home after some time.

She testified that the accused had kidnapped her in an e-rickshaw and took her to a room. In her statements, she said that he gave her fruits and biscuits, she was asked to remove her clothes. When she refused, he threatened her with a knife, and the victim had submitted.

The prosecution, represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Yogita Kaushik Dahiya, had argued before the court that the convict deserved no leniency for the reprehensible act and that he had earlier been convicted of rape by a court in Uttar Pradesh.