New Delhi: A court, while sentencing a man to imprisonment for the rest of his life for raping a 15-year-old in 2016, also directed Delhi Police to trace her, who is now 23, and the girl child born to her in 2018 following the rape.
The court of additional sessions judge Anu Aggarwal observed that the child, now six years old, had been stamped “illegitimate” for the rest of her life and would be treated so by the society throughout her life.
“The convict, in a very calculated manner, induced the minor into entering into sexual relations with him. The minor was forced to become a mother at the tender age of 17 years. The immense mental trauma that the victim and the child have to bear is unimaginable,” the court said.
Observing that the convict, now 27, did not deserve any leniency as the child born out of the rape would have to suffer ignominy, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on him, which would be paid to the survivor. It also granted Rs 16.5 lakh as the maximum compensation to her, saying she would have to look after her child.
The court was hearing the arguments on the sentencing against the man who was convicted under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and under the penal provision of rape.
Additional public prosecutor Arun KV, seeking maximum punishment, submitted that between 2016 and 2018, the convict, an auto driver, induced the 15-year-old girl into a relationship on the pretext of marriage and abandoned her when she delivered a baby.
“This is not just a case of sexual violence but also of a grave betrayal of trust. The victim was left to bear the trauma of motherhood and societal rejection. Both the victim and her child have been scarred for life by the convict’s actions,” he said.
The court noted that the girl was an easy prey as she had no family support, and being a minor, she could not understand the convict’s intentions. The man not only exploited the minor but also destroyed her future, leaving her and her child stigmatised by society, it added.
