To ensure that the “carceral period reforms the convict”, the Delhi High Court has directed the superintendent of Tihar Jail to consider an appropriate reformative programme for a man convicted of raping his intellectually-challeneged cousin in 1999. The court also reduced his life term to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment.
Directions to convict
A Bench of Justices Anu Malhotra and Gita Mittal directed the convict, who was out on bail, to surrender and undergo the remainder of his sentence. The Bench asked the superintendent at Tihar Jail to consider an appropriate programme for the convict, including correctional courses, skill development and ensuring his protection from associating with agencies of moral hazards such as gambling dens, brothels, etc.
The Bench also directed the application of psychometric tests to measure the reformation taking place.
In the instant case, the 23-year-old convict was sentenced to life term by a trial court in 1999 after he was found guilty of raping his 16-year-old cousin.
Appeal against sentence
The man had served a period of seven years, seven months and 27 days in prison till his release on December 13, 2006, on bail when he moved the present appeal against his conviction and sentence.
The HC upheld his sentence observing that the offence committed by him is “gruesome and barbaric”.
Financial status
But the court reduced the life term to 10 years, stating: “Taking into account the factum that there are no other cases against the accused/appellant and no previous convictions, it is essential that the sentence imposed acts as a deterrent and simultaneously is reformative with a prospect of rehabilitation”.
“The offender would be in his 40s today. He would have been around 30 years of age on December 4, 2006, when his sentence was suspended. We have no information regarding the financial status of the appellant or as to how his family is positioned. Is he married and does he have the responsibility of looking after a family? It could be argued that if the appeal had been heard expeditiously, even if the order of life sentence had been maintained, the appellant would have long ago been able to seek executive pardon. Hence the sentence of imprisonment, which is hereby proposed,” said the Bench.
While directing reformative steps to be taken in jail, the Bench quoted a 1979 Supreme Court judgment to ensure that the “carceral period reforms the convict”.
Model Prison Manual
The court also cited Justice Madan B. Lokur to emphasise that the Model Prison Manual, which is a composite document dealing with a variety of issues such as custodial management, medical care, education of prisoners, vocational training and skill development programme, legal aid, welfare of prisoner, after care and rehabilitation, board of visitors, and prison computerisation needed to be implemented with due seriousness and dispatch.
