The Bombay High Court observed that the child of a rape victim is also a victim while directing a convict to pay Rs 2 lakhs as compensation to the child.
The money must be deposited in a joint account in any nationalised bank in the name of the child and Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Mumbai who has been appointed as the boy's guardian. "Periodical interest drawn from the amount of Rs.2 lakhs invested in a Fixed Deposit in the said account, shall be utilized for the overall development and welfare of the child including his education, health, and other necessary expenses," the high court order read.
The high court was hearing an appeal filed by Ramesh Vavekar, a DJ, who was convicted of aggravated penetrative sexual assault resulting in a pregnancy and sentenced to life in prison. The division bench of the high court comprising Justices Sadhana S Jadhav and Prithwiraj K Chavan allowed his appeal and reduced his jail term to 10 years after Vavekar expressed his willingness to adequately compensate the child.
"Looking to the young age of the appellant and his future prospects in his profession as a Disk Jockey as well as the fact of his willingness to provide adequate compensation to the child, we are of the considered view that, no fruitful purpose would be served in detaining the appellant for his entire life, instead, if the amount of compensation to be awarded to the child, is adequate, it would serve the ends of justice," the high court noted in its order.
The rape victim, a 15-year-old minor, died in 2015 four days after delivering the baby at full term. The male child, now seven years old, was admitted to an orphanage where he has been living since his birth.
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Child of a rape victim is also a victim
The Bombay High Court observed that a child born to a rape victim is indeed her legal heir and is also a victim in view of the definition outlined in section 2 (wa) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The child was thus entitled to compensation, the high court observed.
The high court relied on DNA analysis which proved the parentage of the child.
The high court also noted that the 15-year-old minor had not only been abandoned by Vavekar but also by her real mother who had falsely claimed that her daughter was a legal adult at the time of the incident. "They did not stop there but had put the life of the newly born child into jeopardy by sending him in an Orphanage," the high court added.
Therefore, the child must be adequately compensated because Ramesh Vavekar, a DJ convicted of raping a 15-year-old minor, is responsible for bringing him in this world and then abandoning him at the mercy of an orphanage," the high court said.
The high court's order came on a plea filed by Vavekar who was appealing against the life sentence imposed on him by the special POCSO court.
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