Hoshiarpur/Chandigarh, Sep 3
Passing probably the first judgment under the amended Section 376-D of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Additional Sessions Judge (Hoshiarpur) JS Bhinder today sentenced Daljit Singh and Amarjit Singh “Bittu” to “imprisonment for life” that shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of their lives in a rape case.

The amendment dated April 2, 2013, provides that “where a woman is raped by one or more persons constituting a group or acting in the furtherance of a common intention, each of those persons shall be deemed to have committed the offence of rape and shall be given rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than 20 years, which may extend to life that shall mean imprisonment for remainder of that person’s natural life”.

The Judge also held the accused guilty under Section 9 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. For that, both of them would be required to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years, besides paying a fine of Rs 5,000 each. In case of the non-payment of fine, they would have to undergo imprisonment for six more months.

In February, Baljit Kaur of Ibrhahimpur village complained that she had been staying at the house of her parents with her two children after separation from her husband. On February 18, her daughter, aged five, went missing. Making enquiries, she reached the house of Daljit Singh and found him in a compromising position with her daughter. Co-accused Amarjit Singh was also present on the occasion.

The accused pleaded innocence claiming there was no penetration which showed that they had not raped the girl. The judgment said the Supreme Court had, in Radhakrishna Nagesh versus State of Andhra Pradesh, held that “even if there is no penetration, it does not necessarily mean that there was no rape”. Semen samples found on the clothes of the girl confirmed the allegations of rape, it said.

The defence counsel said only the statement of the prosecutor’s mother was not sufficient to convict the accused. The court, however, said: “The prosecutrix is a small child of five years of age and still has to see the light of the day when the horrible occurrence took place. Mother is the natural guardian and in her examination she has fully proved the case of the prosecution. It is settled provision of law that court can and may act on testimony of a single witness provided he is wholly reliable.”