In the latest judgment Court cannot act like a mute spectator to allow injustice being done to the women for generations to generations, remarked the High Court of Karnataka while dismissing an appeal filed by rape convict accused of raping a sixty nine year old women.
A bench headed by Justice B. Veerappa observed that the courts should act as Lord Shri Krishna of Mahabharata to protect in order to protect safety of women. The court, while considering the evidence on record and the confessional statement made by the accused, observed that the act of sexual attack on an aged woman by the accused is like a “cruel animal”. How the accused who is similar to the age of grandsons of the victim thought of having sex with the victim without caring for her age of 69 years is understandable.
The court dismissed the appeal and observed that, “It is relevant to sate that at his stage, rape is violative of the victim’s fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Therefore, the courts should deal with such cases sternly and severely. Sexual violence, apart from being a dehumanizing act, is an unlawful intrusion on the right of privacy and sanctity of a woman. It is a serious blow to her supreme honor and offends her self-esteem and dignity as well”.
It was further stated that Rape is not just the crime against the person but against the whole society. It is crime against the human rights and also violates the most cherished fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It was remarked that “A woman’s body is not a man’s play thing and he cannot take advantage of it in order to satisfy his lust, and the society will not tolerate such things anymore”.
Observing this, the bench dismissed the appeal and upheld the sentence including rigorous imprisonment for seven years imposed on the convict.
