Supreme Court rejects appeals of two convicts in 2019 rape and kidnapping case of a minor schoolgirl. Court says, “She is a minor. This is proved and nothing else is needed.”
New Delhi, June 11: The Supreme Court of India has dismissed the appeals of two men who were sentenced to life in jail for kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old girl in 2019. The court said that the case was very serious and did not allow any relief to the convicts.
The two men, Sanjay Paikra and Pustam Yadav, had approached the Supreme Court after the Chhattisgarh High Court confirmed their conviction and punishment. The third person involved in the case was Santosh Kumar Gupta, who worked as a school van driver. All three were found guilty of kidnapping and raping the minor girl under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the POCSO Act (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act).
On Tuesday, a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan heard the appeal and rejected it.
The bench said : “This is a very serious case. You along with the van driver kidnapped and raped a minor school girl. No indulgence is needed from us. Dismissed.”
The defence tried to argue that the girl had gone with them willingly and did not raise any alarm while being kept in confinement. But the court refused to accept this, reminding them that the girl was a child.
The bench said clearly “She is a minor. This is proved and nothing else is needed.”
The incident happened in November 2019, when the girl, who was studying in Class VII, was taken away by the accused under the false promise of a picnic. An FIR was filed by the girl and her mother on November 18, 2019.
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Later, on October 5, 2021, the trial court found all three guilty and gave them life imprisonment under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, which is used for punishing those guilty of serious sexual crimes against minors. The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 1,000 on each of them.
In addition to the life sentence, they were also given different jail terms for other crimes like kidnapping.
After this, on August 5, 2024, the Chhattisgarh High Court upheld the trial court’s decision, saying that the evidence clearly proved their guilt.
The strong remarks of the court—
“This is a very serious case. You along with the van driver kidnapped and raped a minor school girl. No indulgence is needed from us. Dismissed and “She is a minor. This is proved and nothing else is needed.”
—show the seriousness with which the judiciary is treating crimes against children.
With this judgment, the life imprisonment of Sanjay Paikra and Pustam Yadav remains unchanged.
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