HC convicts man let off in rape case 21 years ago
Mumbai, Dec 23: The Bombay High Court has overturned a 1997 trial court order acquitting a 41-year-old man in a rape case of a minor girl in 1996.
A division bench of Justices Indrajit Mahanty and V K Jadhav Saturday convicted Macchindra Sonawane (who was 19 years old at the time of the incident) and sentenced him to seven years in jail for raping the 11-year-old girl.
The bench, in its judgment, said the trial court had erred and acted in a "casual or cavalier" manner, in determining the victim's age as that of being a major.
The prosecution case is that on December 1, 1996, Sonwane allegedly raped the victim who had gone to his shop to buy medicines.
A sessions court in Nashik had in July 1997 acquitted Sonwane after determining the victim's age as 16 and not 11.
The court had taken into consideration the victim's X-ray ossification test that estimated her age as 14.
The trial court applied the plus two minus two margin of error and determined that victim was 16, which was the age of consent at that time.
The trial court had also disbelieved the victim's statement that she had resisted the rape after observing that there were no injuries on her body to show resistance.
Thereafter, the Maharashtra government approached the HC in appeal against the acquittal and said the trial court had erred in determining the victim's age and claimed that she had not even hit puberty at the time of the crime.
The HC, in its judgment, noted that the trial court had mechanically determined the age of the victim.
The bench also took note of the victim's statement to the police and her deposition before the trial court in which she had categorically denied having consented to the act.
"Lack of any resistance or absence of injury on the body of the victim are of no consequence vis a vis the issue of consent," the High Court said.
The bench, while convicting Sonwane, directed him to pay a fine of Rs one lakh as compensation to the victim.
It asked the Nashik District Legal Services Authority to locate the victim and get an application from her for consideration of payment of compensation under the government's scheme of financial assistance for women victims/ survivors for sexual assault and other crimes.
"We hope and trust that such application will be dealt with necessary sympathy that the case deserves," the HC said.
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Power struggle in ruling Cong has 'created massive confusion' in Karnataka: BJP leader Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday claimed that the ongoing power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar has created massive confusion in Karnataka.
He remarked that the proverb “when two people fight, the third one benefits” has come true, as AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge is also now making efforts to become Chief Minister.
Speaking to reporters here, Ashoka said the entire government has turned into a house of confusion due to the alleged power tussle.
Kharge’s new statement has only added to the chaos, he said.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had on Friday said that no date has been fixed yet to discuss possible leadership change in Karnataka.
This came a day after Kharge said there was no change of CM in Karnataka "for now" and that the leadership issue in the state would be resolved soon.
The BJP leader said that Kharge too has aspirations and that he was cheated earlier.
"Perhaps he has received a green signal from the Congress high command to become CM. Everyone is already saying Kharge should become CM. Kharge himself has declared, “I am ready to become CM.” Despite many attempts in the past, he never became CM. Now he is trying to seize the opportunity," the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly said.
According to him, the situation in Congress has perfectly become a case of “two people fighting, third one benefits.”
