Man gets 15 years in prison for rape and kidnapping of minor in Noida

Both the accused and the survivor come from the same village. (Representative)

Noida:

A court in Gautam Buddh Nagar district has sentenced a man to ten years’ imprisonment for raping a minor girl and a further five years for abducting her with the intent to force her into marriage.

Both the sentences would be served concurrently as per the order of the Special Judge of the POCSO Court (Principal Judge), Vikas Nagar, who also sentenced the convict to pay a fine of Rs 55,000.

Mohit, from Greater Noida, was accused of kidnapping and raping a 16-year-old girl in April 2017. An FIR under sections 363, 366 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the POCSO Act was filed at Dankaur police station in connection with the case.

Both the accused and the survivor come from the same village.

While defence counsel Naresh Chand Gupta argued for a minimum sentence for the accused as he was the sole breadwinner of his poor family and had no previous convictions, special public prosecutor Jai Prakash Bhati argued against any leniency and for the maximum sentence to be imposed as it was a “very serious offence” against a minor.

“A thorough critical examination and appreciation of the evidence adduced by the prosecution leads the court to conclude that the evidence adduced is sufficient to prove that on April 3, 2017 at 11.30 am, the accused Mohit abducted the minor victim with the intention of forcing her into marriage or illicit sexual intercourse and further convicted her of rape and sexual abuse with penetration,” Justice Nagar said in the order passed on Friday.

“In conclusion, it can be stated that the offences against accused Mohit, namely Sections 366, 376 IPC and Section 4 POCSO Act, are proved beyond reasonable doubt. Therefore, accused Mohit can be convicted in these offences. So far as the charge under Section 363 IPC is concerned, this offence is included in other charges under Section 366 IPC, therefore, the accused can be acquitted in the charge under Section 363 IPC,” he added.

Accordingly, the judge ordered that the convict be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 for violating Section 4 of the POCSO Act and in case of non-payment of the fine, he will have to additionally undergo simple imprisonment for a term of six months.

The convict was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 for violating Section 366 of the IPC. In case of non-payment of the fine, he will have to serve an additional simple imprisonment of three months, Justice Nagar said.

“The time the convicted person has already spent in prison during the trial will be credited to the sentence originally imposed on him. Both original sentences will be served concurrently,” the judge ordered.

“As per Section 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 85 per cent of the fine imposed on the convict shall be used towards the rehabilitation costs of the victim,” he added.

During the hearing of the case, the court also noted a discrepancy regarding the victim’s age: her father stated that she was 13 years old at the time of the incident, while her school reports and the forensic report showed her age to be around 16.

However, the court found that in both cases the survivor was a minor at the time the crime was committed against her.

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