New Delhi [India], May 22 (HBTV): A 33-year-old woman, paralysed from the neck down, moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking medical assistance, compensation, and a harsher sentence for a cab driver who subjected her to repeated rape and brutal sexual violence over seven months. The Punjab trial court had earlier sentenced the man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The matter was mentioned before a bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and is listed for hearing on Friday.
According to her plea, the woman was subjected to severe sexual assault, physical abuse, and illegal confinement by the convicted man from August 2022 to March 2023. The brutality culminated at a hotel in Jalandhar, where she was allegedly drugged and raped again. The convict later called the 'One Stop Centre' hospital and falsely claimed he had found a mentally challenged and disabled woman on the roadside, having already destroyed all her official documents.
An FIR was registered on March 8, 2023, at the Model Town Police Station in Hoshiarpur based on her statement. Following this, she was moved to a protective home in Jalandhar, where she alleged further mistreatment, including harassment by the convict’s family and local officials, inadequate medical care, and neglect.
She was finally rescued by a friend and returned to Delhi in December 2023. A chargesheet was filed on August 20, 2024, and the trial court convicted the accused under Section 376 of the IPC.
The accused has since appealed the judgment in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Meanwhile, the woman received a letter from the Legal Services Authority requesting documentation that she no longer possesses due to the convict’s alleged destruction of her records.
The petition submitted to the Supreme Court details her continued lack of proper medical care and shelter, and her exposure to death threats from unknown individuals warning her not to oppose the appeal.
She is now seeking specialised medical treatment, rehabilitation, legal aid, and protection. Her plea asserts that the rape and illegal confinement of a physically disabled woman constitute a grave violation of Article 21 of the Constitution, infringing her dignity, privacy, and mental well-being.
It also cites provisions under the Criminal Procedure Code mandating that District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) provide immediate financial and medical assistance to victims. She invokes the Delhi Victim Compensation Scheme, 2018, and the Punjab Victim Compensation Scheme, 2017, both of which entitle her to ongoing treatment-related support.
Furthermore, the woman seeks access to the complete trial court records, stating that she lacks the resources to obtain them herself. Without these, she is unable to file an appeal seeking an enhanced sentence. Her petition requests the apex court to direct the State to provide these records at its own expense and grant her the liberty to file an appeal before the Delhi High Court.
The woman is represented by Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta, along with advocates Namrata Mohapatra and Achalika Ahuja. The petition was filed by Advocate Dhiraj Abraham Philip.
(ANI)