HC upholds life term of man for sodomising four-year-old child

The Delhi High Court has upheld life imprisonment awarded to a man for sodomising a four-year-old child, saying his perverse act would have caused physical injuries and left deep emotional scars on the victim.

The court said the 25-year-old convict was himself a father of a small child, but he had no compunction in committing such a heinous crime.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Vinod Goel upheld the verdict of a trial court which had awarded life term to the convict, a neighbour of the minor, and dismissed his appeal.

The bench noted that the victim was lured by the man in his room as he offered to feed him chicken-rice and the child innocently accepted it and went to his room which was in the same premises where he and his family were residing.

"By committing such a perverse act, the appellant (man) has not only caused physical injuries to the victim but more than that, the said act would have left deep emotional scars on him likely to stay on in his mind for a long, long time to