2009 Noida rape case: Juvenile convicted, sent to reform home

A Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) on Monday convicted a man for raping a 24-year old in 2009, while he was still a minor. He has been sent to a reformation home for three years for rehabilitation.

The victim, an MBA student at Amity University, was brutally gangraped by 11 people, including the juvenile on January 5, 2009, in front of her friend Amit Panwar at a secluded place in Noida.

The conviction comes after a year when nine of the accused were acquitted by a Delhi court due to the lack of evidence, while one of them died during the course of the trial and one was tried as a juvenile. 

Principal Magistrate Arul Varma said, in a 100-page order, that, “In the present case, there is unquestionably a ring of truth in the prosecution version. The evidence of the prosecution witnesses have been amply strengthened by medical and scientific evidence, and by the recovery of incriminating articles from the juvenile...

“The presence of the juvenile at the scene of the occurrence has been established by overwhelming evidence - both ocular and scientific, and the witnesses have correctly identified him before the Board.” 

“Therefore keeping in mind the psychological and psychiatric intervention that the juvenile needs due to the type of abuse, gravity of the offence, severity of the mental and physical harm caused to the victim, this Board deems its fit to send the juvenile in conflict with law (JCL) to protective custody for proper rehabilitation,” it added. 

However, the board which sent the man, over 17 years of age at the time of the offence, to the reform home at Majnu Ka Tilla, allowed his plea to suspend the sentence for a month to enable him to file an appeal against the judgment. 

The Board also initiated perjury proceedings against two witnesses who had falsely deposed in the court. One of the witnesses, who claimed to be the JCL’s uncle, had deposed that he was ill on the date of the incident and the accused was looking after him. 

The Board also directed the UP State Legal Sevices Authority (UPSLSA) to give a compensation of Rs 3 lakh or more to the victim.

HOW THE CASE UNFOLDED

Jan 5, 2009   A 24-year-old MBA student, resident of south Delhi was gangraped in Noida by 11 young men celebrating a cricket match victory.

Jan 6, 2009  FIR was registered in Noida sector 39 police station against the juvenile and other adult accused persons, and chargesheet was filed after the investigation.

Jan 10, 2009  The juvenile, along with other accused were apprehended.

Nov 10, 2014  The trial of the case was shifted from a Noida court to Tis Hazari court in Delhi on Supreme Court’s order, after the victim’s male friend approached it, fearing threat to his life and facing pressure to withdraw the case.

Jan 5, 2015  The matter related to the juvenile was received by the Juvenile Justice Board in Delhi from JJB in Gautam Budh Nagar.

Feb 16, 2017  Nine adult accused persons were acquitted by trial court in Delhi of the charge of gang raping the 24-year-old MBA student.

Feb 19, 2018  Juvenile was sent to reformation home for three years after he was found guilty. 

Out of total 4,816 reported rape cases in UP, 682 were gangrapes.

As per the NCRB data released in 2016, UP witnessed the maximum number reporting qua the offence of rape.

The figure makes UP, a state with the second highest incidents of rape and the highest incidents of gangrapes.