Delhi court sentences man to 20 years in jail for raping minor

New Delhi: A Delhi court sentenced a 57-year-old man to 20 years’ imprisonment for raping a 14-year-old girl and impregnating her. It also directed the Delhi State Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 18.75 lakh compensation to the survivor.The court underscoried the increasing number of rape cases and the need to bring “deterrence”. Judge Ajay Nagar said a strong message must be conveyed that such offences against children “shall not be tolerated under any circumstances”.The judge noted that Basu Dev Saini, the convict, had misused his bail relief in 2020 by threatening the survivor and her family, after which the bail was cancelled.The crime dates back to Jan 2019, when the victim went to deliver tea to Saini.

The prosecution, led by Rajesh Sirohi, said Saini raped her and threatened to kill her family if she disclosed the details.In Aug 2019, when she was found to be seven months pregnant, she revealed she had been sexually assaulted. This led to the registration of a case against Saini.He was charged under the IPC for rape and criminal intimidation, and under the Pocso Act for aggravated penetrative sexual assault on a child. Medical and forensic examinations confirmed that he was the biological father of the survivor’s male child.

The accused pleaded not guilty and claimed that the victim’s father had borrowed Rs 40,000 from him and falsely implicated him to avoid repayment. Rejecting this defence, the court observed: “A girl of such delicate age cannot put her reputation and prestige at stake merely to falsely implicate the accused for the purposes of settling monetary dispute.”Terming the claims “vague” and “without any substance,” Judge Nagar noted that no transaction details were provided.

“Date is too far, even the month or the year are not mentioned,” he said, adding that the allegation seemed “concocted” as no prior animosity was established.The court noted that Saini and the victim’s father were friends for over 30 years before the incident, a factor he used to his advantage. “In such circumstances a girl of 14 years isn’t supposed to disclose such a kind of offence to her family,” the judge said.The defence argued that the victim’s age was not proven as her birth certificate was not submitted.

The family said they relied on school records and a horoscope to calculate her age.Judge Nagar held that a “successor public servant could present the certificate before the court,” but the defence had failed to establish that the victim was an adult at the time of the crime.During sentencing, the court took a lenient view considering Saini’s economic background and the impact on his family, noting that they would suffer more than the convict himself. Accordingly, instead of awarding life imprisonment, the court sentenced him to 20 years in prison.