'Mother abetted rape': HC upholds 25-yr jail sentence

Shruti Kakkar

- Shruti Kakkar

The Delhi High Court has upheld a trial court's conviction of a woman for abetting the repeated rape of her IL-year-old daughter, stating that the mother “actively facilitated” the sexual assaults instead of protecting her child.

A bench of justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, in a September 18 verdict, dismissed the woman’s appeal against her 25-year prison sentence, emphasising the “stark” nature of the case where a parent became “instrumental in enabling” the abuse.

“The facts of the present case are stark, as the mother, who is expected to safeguard her child, instead became instrumental in enabling and facilitating the repeated commission of the heinous offence of penetrative sexual assault upon her own daughter,” the court said in its verdict released on Friday.