Supreme Court gives 30-year jail to man, fines him a lakh for raping 7-year-old girl in temple premises

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has awarded a 30-year jail term to a man for the rape of a seven-year-old girl within temple premises in 2018.

The court noted that his unmindfulness of the holiness of the place, in this unfortunate and barbaric action, may haunt the victim for her life.

A bench of Justices C T Ravikumar and Rajesh Bindal ordered that the convict Bhaggi should not be released from jail before the completion of his actual sentence of 30 years.

"We have no hesitation to hold that the fact he had not done it brutally will not make its commission non-barbaric," the bench said.

In its judgment on Monday, the court, however, modified the Madhya Pradesh High Court's order which commuted the sentence from capital punishment to life term under Section 376AB of the IPC.

The petitioner-convict contended that the High Court recorded that the manner in which the offence was committed was not barbaric and brutal. Since there was no criminal antecedent, rigorous imprisonment for 20 years with a minimal fine will be the comeuppance, his counsel said.

The bench, however, said there was a need for deterrence punishment.

"The position is that he used a lass aged 7 years to satisfy his lust. For that the petitioner-convict took the victim to a temple, unmindful of the holiness of the place disrobed her and himself and then committed the crime," the bench said.

The court also pointed out once the conviction is sustained under Section 376 AB, IPC, the fixed-term punishment could not be for a period of less than 20 years.

"It is noted that if the victim is religious every visit to any temple may hark back to her the unfortunate, barbaric action to which she was subjected to. So also, the incident may haunt her and adversely impact in her future married life," the bench said.

In the case, the bench noted no separate sentences were imposed on the petitioner for the offence under Section 3/4 and 5(m)/6 of the POCSO Act by the trial court, evidently, only on the ground that capital sentence is imposed on the petitioner for the offence under Section 376 AB, IPC.

Under Section 376 AB, IPC when a sentence of imprisonment for a term not less than 20 years which may extend up to life imprisonment is imposed, the convict is also liable suffer a sentence of fine which shall be just and reasonable to meet the medical expenses and rehabilitation of the victim, the bench said.

The court quantified Rupees One Lakh as the fine which should be paid to the victim.