HC reduces sentence in rape case

Legal Correspondent

Shimla, April 4

The High Court has upheld the conviction to accused Rajinder Kumar in the rape case.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary and Justice CB Barowalia observed, “The accused has rightly been convicted for the commission of the offence punishable under Section 376(2), IPC, and under Section 6 of the POCSO Act.”

However, the court modified the sentence awarded to the convict from life imprisonment to 10 years. Modifying the sentence, the court further observed, “In the totality of the circumstances, it is not a rarest of the rare case where the maximum sentence that is imprisonment for life should have been given to the convict. Consequently, instead of life imprisonment, the convict will undergo a rigorous imprisonment for 10 years.”

The court passed this judgement on an appeal filed by the convict, challenging the sentence awarded to him by the trial court.

As per prosecution, Rajinder Kumar sexually assaulted the procecutrix on her way to school. A FIR was registered in the police station, Ghumarwin, on June 8, 2014, on the statement of the mother of the prosecutrix.