Karnataka Court Sentences Man to 20 Years for Raping Minor, Also Punishes Parents for Child Marriage

In a significant judgment, the Additional District and Sessions (Special POCSO) Fast Track Special Court-1 in Kalaburagi has sentenced a 24-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl. The court also imposed one-year prison terms on the victim's parents and her husband for their involvement in a child marriage.

Judge S.L. Chavan delivered the verdict on Tuesday. According to the prosecution, the main convict, Nagappa Chadabanura, a resident of Yaragola village in Yadgir district, stalked and repeatedly spoke to the minor girl. In March 2024, when the victim was returning home from a toilet in the evening, he lured her with false promises of love and marriage. Despite knowing she was a minor, he forcibly took her to a nearby thorny bush and raped her.

Subsequently, on May 3, 2024, the victim was forced into a child marriage at the Korisiddeshwara Temple in Nalwar by her parents and other family members. They married her off to 25-year-old Siddappa Harakanchi. Even after the marriage, Nagappa continued to harass the victim, demanding that she leave her husband.

The harassment escalated on September 5, 2024, when Nagappa intercepted the victim at Nalwar village, forced her onto his motorcycle, and took her to a secluded pigeon pea field. There, he raped her again before abandoning her at the Wadi Railway Station under the pretext of fetching money. When the victim disclosed her ordeal to her parents the next day, their attempt to confront Nagappa was met with death threats, leading to a police investigation.

Wadi Sub-Inspector of Police Tirumalesh and Chittapur Circle Inspector of Police Chandrashekhar Tigadi conducted a meticulous investigation. A charge-sheet was filed under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. Special Public Prosecutor Shanthaveera B. Thuppada presented water-tight evidence and ensured key witnesses were produced systematically before the court.

Judge Chavan convicted Nagappa under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, sentencing him to 20 years in prison and imposing a fine of ₹25,000, with an additional six months of simple imprisonment if he fails to pay. He was also sentenced to one year in prison and fined ₹10,000 under Section 12 of the POCSO Act, alongside concurrent sentences under BNS Sections 78 (one year prison, ₹10,000 fine) and 87 (three years prison, ₹25,000 fine).

The court dealt strictly with the child marriage aspect. The victim's husband, Siddappa, was sentenced to one year of imprisonment and fined ₹10,000 under Section 9 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. The victim's father, Ningappa Badder (46), and mother, Ningamma (40), were both sentenced to one year of imprisonment and fined ₹10,000 each under Section 10 of the same Act for facilitating the marriage of their underage daughter. Failure to pay any of these fines will result in an additional month of simple imprisonment.

Recognising the severe trauma endured by the survivor, the court issued a corrective directive. Judge Chavan ordered the Legal Services Authority to provide a financial compensation of ₹5,00,000 to the victim, to be disbursed within one month from the date of the judgment to assist in her rehabilitation and recovery.