New Delhi:
Law makers must consider re-defining the offence of rape to deal with different categories of accused, a Delhi court said on Tuesday while awarding 10 years' jail to a 19-year-old florist guilty of digital rape of an 80-year-old woman.
Prahlad used his fingers to sexually assault the victim, abandoned by her family, in north Delhi's Tri Nagar area in 2011. The court has awarded a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the victim.
Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau while sentencing the convict said: "Indian legislators need to step in and think about having a re-look at the definition of rape so as to specifically include the instances of digital rape/male rape/anal rape."
The court suggested formulation of a separate exhaustive legislation covering all categories of sexual assault similar to the laws in Scotland, Ireland, Australia (Sexual Assault Act of Victoria) and the US (Violence Against Women Act, 1994).
The prosecution said that Prahlad raped the victim using unnatural means past midnight May 19, 2011. The octogenarian victim lived in a park in Tri Nagar.
The court observed that the victim suffered dangerous injuries in the incident and her condition remained critical for a number of days.
The court directed the Delhi government to grant a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the rape victim.