Supreme Court Rejects Appeals Of Two Convicts, Upholds Life Imprisonment In Minor Rape Case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of two convicts challenging the life imprisonment handed down by courts below for kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old girl in 2019 on the pretext of taking her to a picnic.

A bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan on Tuesday rejected the appeal of convicts Sanjay Paikra and Pustam Yadav against the Chhattisgarh High Court verdict.

The high court on August 5, 2024 upheld the trial court's judgement convicting Paikra, Yadav and third accused Santosh Kumar Gupta, the school van driver, in the sensational kidnapping and rape case under various provisons of the IPC and the POCSO Act (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) for offences of kidnaping and raping a class VII student.

"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 bench said while rejecting the appeal of two convicts.

The bench did not agree to the submissions that the girl was a consenting party and did not raise any alarm during the period when she was kept in solitary confinement.

"She is a minor. This is proved and nothing else is needed," the bench said.

The trial court had convicted the three accused on October 5, 2021 and had awarded life imprisonment besides imposing a fine of Rs 1,000 on them under Section 6 of the POCSO Act which deals with the punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault.

They were also handed down varying jail terms for other offences including kidnapping.

An FIR was lodged by the survivor and her mother with the police on November 18, 2019.

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