Sirsa court awards death penalty to man for minor daughter's rape

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, November 24

Awarding death penalty to a 56-year-old man for raping his minor daughter, Additional District Judge (ADJ) Praveen Kumar has termed it the ‘rarest of rare cases’.

‘RAREST OF RARE CASES’

Such criminals are a danger to society at large and are beyond reformation and rehabilitation. This court opines that the present case falls within the purview of the ‘rarest of rare cases’ and calls for capital punishment for the convict. Praveen Kumar, ADJ, Sirsa

The court said the accused, who was charged of raping his own daughter, under his refuge and fortress was worse than the gamekeeper becoming a poacher and treasury guard becoming a robber.

In the 21-page judgment, the ADJ said, “There can never be more graver and heinous crime than a father being charged of raping his own daughter. This not only delicts the law, but it is a betrayal of trust. The father is the fortress and refuge of his daughter in whom she trusts...”

“Even in ordinary criminal terminology, a rape is a crime more heinous than murder as it destroys the very soul of the hapless woman. This

is more so when the perpetrator of the grave crime is the father of the victim.

By betraying the trust and taking undue advantage, the accused ravished the chastity of his daughter, jeopardised her future prospect of getting married, enjoying marital and conjugal life.

Not only that, she carries

an indelible social stigma on her head and deathless shame as long as she lives,” the court observed.

“Indeed, such criminals are a danger to society at large and are beyond reformation and rehabilitation. Therefore, this court is of the firm opinion that the present case falls within the purview of the ‘rarest of rare cases’ and calls for an imposition of the capital punishment upon the convict and any lesser sentence would do grave injustice not only to the victim and her mother but to the collective conscience of society as well,” the ADJ said.

Demanding capital punishment, Public prosecutor Rajiv Sardana, the district attorney of Sirsa, argued that the convict, being the real father of the victim, committed aggravated penetrative sexual assault upon his daughter and that the manner, in which, the crime had been done clearly shows that it was premeditated.

On the other hand, the counsel for the convict argued that he belongs to a socially and economically backward section of the society and was not well educated. “Therefore, he should not be considered beyond reformation. He has no criminal antecedents and had impaired capacity to appreciate the criminality of the act as he was drunk, the counsel said and prayed that a lenient view may be taken in the matter of sentence.

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