The Supreme Court agreed to examine the petition of a British tourist challenging the bail granted to a guest house owner who was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping her.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine the petition of a British tourist challenging the bail granted to a guest house owner who was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping her in Rajasthan's Udaipur district.
A bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and V S Sirpurkar, which had earlier issued notice to accused Parbat Singh and the Rajasthan Government, posted the matter for final disposal in the second week of January 2009 after counsel Vikram Chowdhary mentioned the matter in the court.
Parbat Singh, proprietor of Pardesi Guest House in Udaipur's Ambamata region, raped the British woman who is a freelance journalist on December 23, 2007 on the pretext of giving her an extra blanket.
Though the Fast Track cum Sessions Court, Udaipur, on May 1, 2008 convicted and sentenced Singh to life imprisonment, the Rajasthan High Court in July this year suspended the sentence and granted the convict bail, pending disposal of the appeal filed by him.
Questioning the suspension of the sentence and the grant of bail, the victim in her petition before the apex court submitted that granting such a relief to the convict has not only wrecked her psychologically and shattered her spirits, but would also seriously erode India's image as a tourist destination.
The British victim submitted that granting bail and suspending the sentence imposed on Singh involved in such a heinous offence amounted to rewarding a convict and hence the High Court's order should be quashed.
According to the petitioner, the High Court's order granting such a relief to the convict was both against the law and principles of equity.
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