Chennai: Merely a few days after he suggested a compromise and a mediated amicable settlement in a rape case, Justice P Devdass of the Madras high court has upheld a 10- year jail term for a rapist in another case.
He said, “In these days, increasingly women and children are becoming the target of lust of men. It is a motiveless crime. It is a beast behaviour... Such kind of criminal behaviour does not deserve sympathy. Such kind of vultures cannot be spared lightly.”
He confirmed conviction of 25 year old P Senthil Kumar and also refused to intervene in the 10 year sentence and Rs 1,000 fine imposed on him by a sessions court in Erode.
“In the administration of criminal justice, pitiable plight of the victims cannot be lost sight of. Trauma left on them will last long in their memory, and it will have psychological impact on their moral and physical activities. The painful event will refuse to fade away from their memory. The victim in a murder case dies once for all, but the victim in sexual violence case dies every day, every minute,” the Judge observed.
Justice Devadass had recently attracted widespread criticism when he talked of giving an opportunity to a man, found guilty of raping a 15 year old girl, to 'settle' the matter by mediation.
