Overview
- The single-judge bench of Justice Santosh Rai on June 23 upheld the 1983 conviction for a 1982 rape, cancelled the accused's bail and ordered him to surrender within 10 days to serve the remaining sentence.
- The court directed the accused to pay a mandatory fine of ₹50,000 as compensation within one month and ruled that failure to pay will add six months' rigorous imprisonment.
- The judge held that an old or torn hymen, by itself, cannot give the accused the benefit of doubt because rape is a legal finding that turns on credible testimony and surrounding facts.
- The survivor's testimony was found wholly reliable and was supported by a same-day medical report documenting six injuries, which the court said corroborated her account.
- The High Court faulted the trial court for imposing a three-year term below the then-statutory minimum and refused probation for the now-elderly appellant to preserve the deterrent effect of criminal law.