The Meghalaya High Court today has refused to interfere with a trial court order sentencing former MLA Julius Dorphang to 25 years imprisonment for raping a minor girl.
The High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee heard the matter on Thursday that directed the state government to provide a compensation of ₹ 20 lakh investment to the victim within 3 months.
The high court bench said in its judgment while dismissing the appeal filed by the former MLA that “The term of imprisonment of 25 years as awarded by the trial court by indicating cogent reasons therefore, does not call for any interference.”
The judgment added, “Considering the age of the convict, such a tenure could be 15 years or 20 years or 30 years or any number of years in between. The discretion that is exercised is for the benefit of the convict by not awarding the maximum sentence permissible.”
Dorphang challenged the order passed by the POCSO Special Judge FS Sangma in Ri-Bhoi district that sentenced him to 25 years imprisonment in August 2021 along with a fine.
Further, the HC Bench ordered that the state should take care of all the medical needs of the survivor free of cost befitting a Grade-II officer for the next 20 years besides that she would be provided with some late education program for women to ensure that she leads a normal & healthy life.
Dorphang, founder and chairman of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council surrendered before the police in 2007. Later, he contested the assembly elections from the Mawahati assembly election in Ri-Bhoi district in 2013 and won.
Previously, in 2017 he was charged with raping a 14-year-old girl while he was sitting MLA. He was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act.
Therefore, he was lodged at the Nongpoh district jail, but the Meghalaya High Court granted him bail on medical grounds in 2020. He was rearrested after the POCSO court convicted him in August 2021.
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