"Sexual violence apart from being a dehumanising act is an unlawful intrusion of the right to privacy and sanctity of a victim.
"It offends his/her self-esteem and dignity- it degrades and humiliates the victim and where the victim is a helpless innocent child, it leaves behind a traumatic experience. Thus, leniency in matters involving sexual offences is undesirable and against public interest," a bench of Justice S P Garg said.
"The appellant's crime is the result of a perverse mind," the court said in its brief judgement.
The bench was hearing the appeal of Gulfam alias Ghoda Singh who was sentenced to a five-year jail term for abducting a 16-year-old boy in central Delhi area on knife-point and sodomising him on the intervening night of August 24-25, 2000.
He was assisted in the crime by another person who was also convicted by the court but his sentence was quashed by the high court as he managed to convince it that he was a juvenile on the day of the incident.