M.P. High Court reduces rape convict’s life sentence to 20 years rigorous imprisonment

The Bench of Justices Subodh Abhyankar and Satyendra Kumar Singh said the appellant should “be made to suffer the period of 20 years in accordance with law”

Stating that the rape convict “was kind enough to leave the four-year-old alive”, the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court reduced his life sentence to 20 years rigorous imprisonment.

In the order issued on October 18, the court also said that “the appellant (accused) who appears to have no respect for the dignity of a woman and has the propensity to commit sexual offence even with a girl child aged 4 years”

The convict Ramu alias Ramsingh had appealed against the life imprisonment sentence awarded to him by the Additional Sessions Judge, Indore, in a 2009 judgment. Ramsingh’s lawyer told the court that he had been falsely implicated, that he had already spent 15 years in jail since the time of his arrest, and “his sentence may be reduced to the sentence already undergone by him”.

However, the High Court found no reason to overturn the conviction. It said that there was not only eyewitness account available in the case but also duly corroborated by the medical evidence and “that the guilt of the accused is proved beyond reasonable doubt”.

The Bench of Justices Subodh Abhyankar and Satyendra Kumar Singh said the appellant should “be made to suffer the period of 20 years in accordance with law”.

The incident happened on May 31, 2007, when Ramsingh – who used to sell different medicines and lived in a tent – called the girl to his tent on the pretext of given her a rupee and later sexually assaulted her.