Kerala: Men get 20 years' RI under Nirbhaya Act

KANNUR: A sessions court in Kasaragod has awarded rigorous imprisonment of 20 years each to two youths for raping a 16-year-old girl in 2013.
Additional sessions court judge P S Sasikumar handed down the sentence under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 - also known as Nirbhaya Act - for the first time in Kerala.
Pronouncing the sentence on Wednesday, the judge also imposed a fine of Rs 1.25 lakh and Rs 1 lakh each on the convicts, autorickshaw driver A Ibrahim Khaleel and his friend B A Khalid, respectively.The amount should be handed over to the survivor. Khaleel was awarded another five years' rigorous imprisonment - which would run concurrently - for kidnapping the girl.
According to the prosecution, Khaleel offered to drop the girl off at her school, and took her to an isolated house and raped her. He then summoned Khalid, who also violated the minor. Later, she was sent home in another autorickshaw.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act came into force in March 2013 after the Nirbhaya case of Delhi.