Youth gets seven years' jail term for raping 55-year-old woman

District Judge P S Teji sentenced Delhi resident Arvind to seven years rigorous imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 upon him, observing that the punishment must have a deterrent effect as he has raped an "aged" woman.

"In Indian society, a woman normally does not come forward to report the assault on her chastity. Rape does not only cause physical injury to a girl or woman, but also tarnishes her mental strength to a great extent. The social impact of the crime committed by Arvind has the potential to affect the entire society," the court said.

The victim had come from Bihar to Delhi in March 2011 to stay with her two married sons for few days, said the prosecution adding Arvind had raped her when she was sleeping in the staircase of the building.

He gagged his mouth and forcibly took her to the roof of the building, where his sons as well as the accused were residing, and raped her, it said.

Due to fear, she did not disclose the incident to her sons in the night but in the morning when she felt uneasy, she informed her sons about Arvind's act, the police said.

She was taken to a hospital and a case was registered against the accused.

The accused claimed innocence saying he was falsely implicated in the case as he had a quarrel with the woman's sons few days before the incident.

The court, however, rejected his submission saying for a woman of 55 years age and that too mother of two married sons, it would be difficult to presume that she would level any false allegation of rape against an innocent person.

"Unless an offence has really been committed, the woman would be extremely reluctant even to admit any such incident had taken place which is likely to reflect on her chastity... It would indeed be difficult for her to survive in Indian society which is, of course, not as forward looking as the western countries are," the judge said.