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Synopsis

The Supreme Court recently set free a man in a 30-year-old rape case by sentencing him to a period of nine months already served by him after finding that he was a juvenile at the time of the incident and both the victim and the appellant had moved on in life.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale also took into account the submission by advocate Dushyant Parashar, appearing on behalf of the man (the appellant), that a lenient view should be taken in the matter as the incident took place 30 years ago.

"Considering the facts and circumstances of the case as also the period which has already passed from the date of the incident, i.e. 30 years, while confirming the conviction, we reduce the sentence of the appellant from seven years to the period already undergone. Any fine amount imposed upon the appellant would be paid by him," the bench said.

Appellant Santosh Kumar Vishwakarma challenged the Madhya Pradesh High Court's judgment dated April 27, 2023.

The court admitted the plea and examined the matter on the limited aspect of the sentence only.

The appellant claimed juvenility by filing an application under Section 9(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, on the date of the alleged incident. On the said application, a direction was issued to the trial court to make an inquiry and submit its report.

After due inquiry, the report was received. According to the report, the appellant was less than 16 years of age on the date of the incident. There were no objections to the said report of the trial court.

In the inquiry conducted by the trial court, the bench noted that there was participation by the State, the complainant and the prosecutrix, along with the accused, and their statements were also recorded.

It was also pointed out that the man had undergone nine months of the sentence out of the seven years of imprisonment awarded to him.

His counsel, Parashar, submitted that the incident occurred in 1994, almost 30 years ago, and in the meantime, the appellant and the victim had moved on in life. They are married and have children, who are of marriageable age now.

As such, this court may take a lenient view and reduce the sentence to the period already undergone by the appellant, he said, adding that the appellant had been declared a juvenile and the maximum sentence warranted under the Act was only three years.

The court thus partly allowed the appeal.

Case Title: Santosh Kumar Vishwakarma Vs State of Madhya Pradesh & Anr