A father of two who had raped his brother-in-law's wife has been sentenced to 10 years jail by a Delhi court which observed that "the offence has a semblance of being incestuous" as the victim is related to the accused.
"Rape is abominable and ghastly and it worsens and becomes inhuman and barbaric when the victim is subjected to unwanted physical contact by a perverted male adult who is related to her and the offence has a semblance of being incestuous as the prosecutrix is related to the accused as she is the wife of his brother-in-law," Additional Sessions Judge Nivedita Anil Sharma said.
The court also fined west Delhi resident Brijesh, 32, Rs 50,000 for raping the 20-year-old woman, and denied his plea for leniency on the ground of his modest background and family responsibilities.
It directed Delhi government pay appropriate amount of compensation to the victim and asked the Delhi Legal Services Authority to oversee its implementation within six weeks.
The court also took note of the pressure the victim said she faced from her husband who even tortured her to withdraw her complaint and his relative washed the clothes she was wearing when raped.
"Disbelief, denial and cover-up to 'preserve the family reputation' are often placed above the interests of the victim and her abuse..." the court said.
Borrowing from American criminologist Freda Adler's book 'Sisters in Crime', the judge quoted in her order, "It is little wonder that rape is one of the least-reported crimes. Perhaps it is the only crime in which the victim becomes the accused and, in reality, it is she who must prove her good reputation, her mental soundness, and her impeccable propriety.
