Man gets 7-year term for rape

Delhi court also imposes a fine of ₹15,000 on him

A 35-year-old man was sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment in a rape case by a Delhi court on Thursday, which said he deserved to be punished for the vile and reprehensible crime that had “shredded” the victim’s dignity.

‘Dignity shredded’

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Jain handed down the jail term to south Delhi resident Bhagwan Das alias Rahul, a married man with four children, for raping a woman on the pretext of helping her secure bail for her husband who was arrested in a theft case.

“The convict in this case has committed the vile act of rape and he deserves to be suitably punished for it. It is true that the convict is 35 years old and has a family to support but on the other hand we must see the plight of the woman who was subjected to rape... Her dignity is shredded,” the judge observed.

It imposed a fine of ₹15,000 on the convict and directed the Secretary, Delhi State Legal Services Authority, South District, to decide the appropriate compensation for the victim.

According to the prosecution, the victim is a mother of two minor girls.

She had on November 26, 2014, alleged that the accused, who was a family friend, had assured help to get her husband out of jail by introducing her to a lawyer.

After he gained her trust, he took her to a flat on the pretext of meeting a lawyer and raped her instead. He also threatened to get her husband killed in jail, the prosecution said, adding that the victim mustered courage to get an FIR lodged a few days after the incident.

Victim’s statement

Relying on the victim’s statement, the court said she has remained consistent and “there was no attempt on her part to misrepresent the fact”. The court also rejected the contention of the defence counsel over delay in registering of the FIR.

“Courts are alive to social realities of Indian society, where women find it very difficult to come out of the closet and report such matters to the police for fear of humiliation. If the delay is well-explained, the court will accept the same and not attach any significance to the same,” it said.