A Delhi court has sentenced a man to six years in jail and fined him Rs.15,000 for raping a minor girl.
“Considering the age of the convict at the time of offence, which was only 20-22 years, and the fact that he has no previous history of involvement in any other case, I am inclined to take a little lenient view,” Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal said in his order Friday.
According to the prosecution, Mohammed Naseem raped the minor girl, his neighbour in Delhi’s Wazirpur area, in 2005.
“His wife has recently died and he is the only bread winner of his family, the interest of justice shall be met if he is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for six years,” the court said.
Under the Indian Penal Code, the minimum punishment for the crime is seven years while the maximum is life imprisonment. For special and adequate reasons, the court can reduce the minimum sentence.
