Man convicted under SC/ST Act, gets life term

: A 21-year-old man was awarded life imprisonment by a Rohtak court under provisions of the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act on Tuesday, even though he was acquitted of raping a minor girl.

The life sentence was awarded invoking Section 3 (2) (5) of the SC/ST Act, which states that if a person commits any offense under the IPC that is punishable with 10-year imprisonment or more against a person belonging to the SC/ST community, his sentence shall be extended to life along with a fine.

The guilty, identified as Rahul, was convicted under Section 366 (abducting woman with intent to compel her for marriage) of the Indian Penal Code, under which the provision of punishment is up to 10 years. Curiously, the convict was awarded a sentence of only five years under Section 366 in this case, but his sentence has been extended to life owing to the provision of punishment up to 10 years under the same section, thus invoking the SC/ST Act.

THE CASE

The case dates back to February 2017, when the victim’s mother filed a complaint with police alleging that Rahul, who lived in their neighborhood, had been posting defamatory and lewd posts about her daughter on social media.

She said her husband was posted in BSF in Kashmir and in his absence, Rahul had also been harassing her daughter.

According to the victim’s statement, which she gave in front of the magistrate, she alleged that Rahul kidnapped her at gunpoint from outside her house following which he took her to a hotel where he intoxicated her and raped her. However, during the trial, the charges of rape could not be established, thus the court acquitted Rahul under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.

He was, however, convicted under Sections 366, 363 (kidnapping), 500 (defamation) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, for which he got five years, two years, one year and two years jail terms, respectively, in punishment, in addition to life term invoked under Section 3 (2) (5) of the SC/ST Act. The sentences will run concurrently.The court also imposed a fine of ₹20,000 on the convict.

THE MINOR GIRL HAD ACCUSED THE VICTIM OF RAPE TOO, HOWEVER, DURING THE TRIAL THE CHARGES COULD NOT BE ESTABLISHED