In 2007 case, man called child to his hut on pretext of giving her a rupee. (Representational Image)
"A demonic act" is how the Madhya Pradesh High Court described the rape of a four-year-old girl, but then reduced the rapist's life sentence to 20 years, because "he was kind enough to leave [the girl] alive".
The convict had requested that the jailtime he's served so far — 15 years — be considered enough. The High Court's Indore bench ruled, "Considering the demonic act of the [convict] who appears to have no respect for the dignity of a woman and has the propensity to commit sexual offence even with a girl child aged 4 years, this court does not find it to be a fit case where the sentence can be reduced to the sentence already undergone by him."
"However, considering the fact that he was kind enough to leave the [girl] alive, this court is of the opinion that the life imprisonment can be reduced to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment," added the bench of Justices Subodh Abhyankar and Satyendra Kumar Singh in the October 18 order.
The High Court found no reason to overturn the conviction order passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Indore.
The man used to live in a tent near the hut of the girl's family — all of them worked as labourers — when he called her into his hut on the pretext of giving her a rupee.
The girl's grandmother found the man raping her. Her testimony and medical evidence proved that the girl was indeed raped.