HC upholds jail term of man for raping minor step daughter

Delhi High Court has upheld a seven year jail term for a man for raping his minor step daughter and making her pregnant, saying the victim was tormented for two years as she was scared to inform her mother.
Refusing leniency sought by the convict, Justice S P Garg said "the appellant (Kishan Lal) being the step-father of the victim is not imagined to have sexual relations even with her consent."
"He stood in a fiduciary capacity and was duty bound to protect her. Beside this, she was about 14 years old on the date of lodging the report. She was aged about 12 years when for the first time she was subjected to rape," the court said.

The order came on an appeal filed by Lal against the trial court's July 2013 decision, which held the accused guilty of raping his step daughter.
Upholding the trial court decision, the high court said, "the victim aged 12 years was too innocent to understand the consequences of his act. She was scared to inform her mother and continued to be tormented by him for about two years. Under these circumstances, sentence needs no modification...."
As per the prosecution, the girl used to live with her mother and step-father at Sangam Vihar. On May 3, 2011, the mother reported the incident to police disclosing that her husband used to repeatedly rape her daughter for the last two years after threatening her.

A medical examination confirmed rape and the victim was also found to be pregnant. She underwent abortion but the foetus was preserved and DNA report confirmed Lal being the culprit.

The accused had contended that he was falsely implicated, but later said the physical relationship was consensual. The high court turned down his contention and relied on the testimony of the victim.
"No ulterior motive was assigned to her for falsely implicating her step-father upon whom she was dependent for her livelihood. She was abused for about two years but was scared to lodge any complaint against him.
"Only when symptoms of pregnancy surfaced and she could not further conceal the nefarious act of the accused, she divulged the incident to her mother and grandmother. The medical evidence confirmed her version in its entirety," the court said.