Father's Rape Of Minor Daughter Is A Betrayal Of Sacred Relationship: Rajasthan High Court Upholds Life Imprisonment

While upholding life imprisonment of a father, convicted of repeatedly raping his minor daughter, Rajasthan High Court held that such offence stuck not only at the individual victim but also at the foundation values of familial trust and society morality, and amounted to gross violation of constitutional guarantee of dignity and personal liberty. The division bench of Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur and Justice Chandra Shekhar Sharma opined that it was extremely difficult for a 14-year old to gather courage to lodge a complaint against her father upon whom she was dependent for shelter and survival. Hence, the delay in reporting and initial non-disclosure of the offence was natural and fully explained, that did not weaken the prosecution case. “accused-appellant, being the biological father of the victim, was under a sacred and moral duty to protect, nurture, and safeguard her. Instead, he repeatedly violated her bodily integrity and dignity over a prolonged period when she was merely 14 years old…No daughter can ever anticipate that her own father would become the perpetrator of such trauma, thereby casting a permanent shadow upon her future.”The Court was hearing an appeal filed by a father who was convicted of continuously raping his daughter, and sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court. It was the case of the appellant that he was wrongly implicated in the case since he was against the intended marriage between his daughter and the complainant. Further, it was argued that there were material contradictions in the testimony of the daughter, and hence she was not a credible witness. The appellant further argued that it was medically evidenced that he was impotent, and hence incapable of committing sexual intercourse. The Court perused the records, and considered a video that was submitted from the prosecution side, that was recorded by the daughter on one of the occasions when she was being subject to the offence. It was highlighted that the victim was not cross-examined in detail regarding this aspect. Based on this video, the Court also rejected the argument of impotency and incapability of performing sexual intercourse. It was held that it was well-settled that if a material point was not challenged in cross-examination, it was presumed to have been admitted. The Court further referred to a few Supreme Court cases in which it had been reiterated that conviction could be based solely on the testimony of the prosecutrix if it was credible and minor contradiction could not be a ground to reject her evidence. In this background, the Court observed that the victim's sworn statement regarding the offence were sufficient without necessity for corroboration. It was held that the victim was wholly credible and inspired confidence as there were no material contradictions, corrections or omissions in her testimony. “Sexual offences, particularly those committed against children, inflict injuries that extend far beyond the immediacy of the physical act. The harm is not confined to bodily violation; it penetrates deeply into the psychological and emotional fabric of the victim…When such an offence is perpetrated by the father—the person whom law and nature alike recognize as the child's guardian and protector—the crime assumes an aggravated and abhorrent dimension. It ceases to be a mere infraction of penal provisions and becomes a profound betrayal of the most sacred and foundational human relationship.”The Court held that the punishment also had to be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and reflective of society's collective denunciation of such conduct. It was opined that any leniency shown towards such moral depravity would not only erode public confidence in judiciary but also amount to failure of constitutional and statutory duty of the courts to protect children from sexual exploitation. Accordingly, the appeal was dismissed. Title: B v State of Rajasthan & Ors. Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 87Click Here To Read/Download Order

Father's Rape Of Minor Daughter Is A Betrayal Of Sacred Relationship: Rajasthan High Court Upholds Life Imprisonment

Nupur Agrawal

Tags