The Bombay high court has upheld the conviction of a man who raped his daughter on several occasions over a period of three years and threatened to kill her if she disclosed the crime to anyone.
A division bench of justices VK Tahilramani and Ajey Gadkari upheld life sentence imposed on Sanjay Shingate, 34, a resident of Sangli, who raped his daughter between 2008 and 2010 when she was 11 – 13 years old.
"The harsh facts of the present case are that the appellant (Shingate) is the father of the victim. At the time of filing of the F.I.R., the victim girl was 13 years old and as per the evidence of the victim, the appellant first committed rape on her when she was in 5th standard i.e when she was almost 11 years old. Thus, an innocent and helpless girl of 11 was subjected to such a barbaric treatment by a person who was none other than her father," observed the judges while dismissing Shingate's appeal.
Shingate had approached the HC against the order of the sessions court at Sangli of June 14, 2012. Rohini Dandekar was appointed as his advocate from the legal aid panel.
Shingate was married to the girl's mother for 15 years prior to the marriage. They had two daughters and the victim girl was eldest amongst them.
According to additional public prosecutor VR Bhonsale, the girl was 13 years old when the FIR was registered on September 25, 2010.
Since childhood, the girl used to stay at her maternal grandparents place in the neighbouring village. Due to repeated quarrels, even the wife started residing at her parents' place.
Shingate used to often visit the girls and would take them out for bicycle rides.
On September 25, 2010, the girl's mother had called up Shingate. He then asked to speak to the victim. Initially, the girl refused but later she spoke on the phone.
At the time, the mother overheard, Shingate talking obscenely with the girl. She disconnected the phone, and took the girl into confidence.
The girl said that her father had first raped her when she was in Class 5, i.e. when she was barely 11. She narrated the other times when her father had raped her. Following which they went and lodged an FIR.
Shingate's defence was that of total denial and false implication.
However, the judges refused to believe him as the girl had narrated all the incidents and her claims were corroborated by medical evidence.
"Thus, the evidence of the victim clearly shows that the appellant who was her father had committed rape on her on several occasions. The victim was clearly below the age of consent," observed the HC while dismissing Shingate's appeal.
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