37 yrs after rape, SC sends convict, now 53, to JJB

NEW DELHI: Thirty-seven years after he raped an 11-year-old girl in Ajmer district of Rajasthan, Supreme Court Wednesday upheld the conviction of the accused but declared him a juvenile. The court directed the man, now 53 years old, to appear before the Juvenile Justice Board, which can at most send him to a special home for up to three years.

The man was convicted in 1993 by additional sessions judge, Kishangarh, and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of five years for rape under Section 376. The trial court's order was upheld by Rajasthan high court in July 2024. The convict did not raise the issue of juvenility, which was pointed out for the first time in SC when he filed an appeal against the conviction and sentence.