On a day when his controversial judgment suggesting mediation in a rape case drew strong criticism across the country, Justice P. Devadass of the Madras High Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction and 10-year sentence awarded to a 25-year-old youth by a lower court for raping a four-and-a-half-year-old girl.
Dismissing the criminal appeal by the convict the judge said, “The victims of sexual violence, the trauma left on them will long last in their memory, it will have psychological impact on their moral and physical activities. The painful event will refuse to fade away from their memory. The victim in a murder case dies once for all, but the victim in sexual violence case dies every day every minute.”
The Principal Assistant Sessions Judge of Erode had in 2010 convicted P. Senthil Kumar under Section 376 (2) (f) of the IPC (raping a girl below 12 years of age) of raping his four-and-a-half-year-old neighbour when her parents were away by offering her sweets.
According to the prosecution, the convict threatened to kill her if she revealed the incident to her parents. The local court convicted him and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment and further imposed a fine of Rs. 1,000. The convict had in 2011 moved the High Court against the judgment.
On Wednesday, Mr. Devadass made the observation that the pitiable plight of victims cannot be lost sight of in the administration of criminal justice. “Such criminal behaviour does not deserve sympathy. Such kind of vultures cannot be spared lightly.” Observing that women and children were increasingly becoming target of men’s these days, the judge said it was a “motiveless crime” and “beast behaviour.”
Mr. Devadass’s June 10 order making a case for mediation in a case of rape of minor girl evoked strong criticism. It is to be seen if the later order, which is in sharp contrast, will take the heat off the criticism levelled against him.
