Madras High Court commutes sentence imposed on 88-year-old man for raping 15-year-old girl, in 2013 case

The Madras High Court has commuted, from 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, to seven years, the punishment imposed on an 88-year-old shopkeeper for having a raped a 15-year-old girl child who subsequently died by suicide, in 2013. The leniency was shown considering the age and frail physical condition of the convict.

The Madras High Court has commuted, from 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, to seven years, the punishment imposed on an 88-year-old shopkeeper for having a raped a 15-year-old girl who subsequently died by suicide, in 2013. The leniency was shown considering the age and frail physical condition of the convict.

Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy took note that the convict, Gnanasigamani of Vellakovil in Tiruppur had already undergone 700 days of imprisonment. Hence, he directed the octogenarian, who was 78 when he committed the crime, to surrender within a month, to undergo the remaining sentence.

Disposing of a criminal appeal pending in the High Court since 2016, the judge pointed out that the deceased had confided about the aggravated sexual assault on her by the shop owner, when her mother questioned her about a delay in her menstruation cycle.

Shocked to hear about what had happened, the girl’s mother rushed to her brother’s house nearby. Subsequently, when she returned with her brother, they found that the teenager had gone into a room and locked it from inside. On breaking open the door, they found the her hanging from the roof with a sari.

The Vellakovil police investigated the crime and laid a charge-sheet against the accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code. However, a Mahila Court, in 2016, acquitted him from the charge of abetment of suicide and convicted him under POCSO alone, leading to the present appeal.

(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available in Tamil Nadu’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)