Delhi: Prison term of youth convicted for sodomising minor trimmed

NEW DELHI:  A court here has upheld the conviction of a youth for sodomising an eight-year-old but reduced his jail term from three years to 18 months, saying that he was about 19 years of age at the time of the incident and an illiterate person.

Dharmender had challenged the May 2019 judgment of a magistrate whereby he was convicted under Section 377 (unnatural offences), sentenced to undergo imprisonment for three years, and directed to pay Rs 50,000 compensation.

Upholding the decision, Principal District and Sessions Judge Dharmesh Sharma said the testimony of the minor victim was of a “sterling quality” and that there is nothing to suggest that the child witness was tutored or had an ulterior motive to implicate the man.

The judge noted that it is a case where the convict “sodomised the minor boy and subjected him to extreme physical and mental pain”. “I find no merit in the appeal and same is accordingly dismissed and the conviction under Section 377 IPC is upheld,” the judge stated in an order dated September 8.

The court then passed the order on his sentence on September 23. The judge, however, lowered the jail term noting, “Keeping in mind that the appellant was about 19 years of age at the time of the incident, and he is illiterate, the sentence of rigorous imprisonment for three years is reduced to a period of 18 months.” 
The convict, who is now a daily wager, has already served a jail term of eight months and 13 days, as per the judicial records. He was sent to judicial custody in June 2008 and was released on bail in 2009.