The Bombay High Court earlier this week upheld a 10-year imprisonment sentence handed out to a man accused of rape, observing that in Indian settings, it does not stand to reason that the victim’s mother would falsely implicate an accused for sexually assaulting her daughter. While the accused, who was the minor’s neighbour, had raped her in 2013 when she was 10 years old, he had claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case at the behest of a local leader. “The said incident reflects on the chastity of her teenaged daughter, which may harm the prospects of marriage, apart from damage to the honour of the family. Hence, it is not possible to accept the defence version that the appellant/accused is falsely implicated in the crime in question,” Justice A M Badar said in his order on June 31. In an appeal filed by the accused against the trial court’s February 14, 2014 order, he had claimed that the case was registered against him due to a dispute with a local leader over construction work in the locality. In her deposition, the girl had said that the accused accosted while she was on way to her house in 2013. He then sexually abused her and threatened to kill her if she spoke about the incident to anyone. For the next few days, the accused continued to harass her. A neighbour heard the girl discuss the incident with a friend and asked her about it. The neighbour then informed the girl’s mother. Alleging that there were inconsistencies in the statements of the neighbour and the victim’s mother, the defence pointed out the delay in filing the FIR and conducting medical examination of the girl. Relying on the victim’s testimony, the court said that it was “consistent and cogent” and was corroborated by medical evidence. It upheld the conviction of the accused under sections 354 (sexual harassment), 506 (criminal intimidation) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
