Appeal not likely to be heard before sentence is served: Delhi High Court suspends sentence of ex-NSG officer in rape case

While making a note of the case pendency before it, the Delhi High Court recently suspended the sentence of an ex-National Security Guard (NSG) officer in a sexual assault case involving minors [Gavade Kisan Bapu v. Union of India & Ors]..Justice Talwant Singh was acting on a plea of the officer who was sentenced to a five-year jail term by a court in 2016. He had spent four-and-a-half years behind bars..The applicant’s argument was that the final appeal would take time for final disposal, and that he had already spent considerable time in jail.Taking note of the high case pendency before the High Court, Justice Singh noted, “It is also not in dispute that looking at the workload and pendency of the old appeals in this court, the present appeal is not likely to be heard before July, 2022, when five years of sentence of the appellant/applicant shall be completed.”.The order underlined that the applicant was not a previous convict and that there was nothing on record to show that his behaviour in jail was not satisfactory. "He had been also granted paroles eight times between the period March 19, 2019 and August 31, 2021, and not even a single complaint is on record to show that during these periods of paroles, he has committed any other offence,” the Court observed.There was no disputing the fact that out of the total sentence of five years, he has remained in jail for 4 years and 8 months, it was noted. “The appellant stands dismissed from service, so there is no question of him visiting the NSG Campus or causing trauma to the victims, who may or may not residing in the same campus now,” the Court underscored..The appellant was convicted by the General Security Guard Court under Section 45 of National Security Guard Act read with Section 10 (punishment for aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Consequently, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and dismissed from service. His punishment was in relation to purported incidents that took place at the NSG campus.The plea was moved after the man had undergone three-and-a-half years in prison. His counsel submitted that the appellant had joined the Indian Army in 2002 with a “good character and antecedents” and there was no truth in the case against him..The respondents, including the Central government, argued that the offence in this case was of a “grave nature” and against multiple minor survivors. “The petitioner misused his position as an NSG official and has tainted the image of the prestigious security organisation, i.e., NSG by committing aggravated sexual assault on three minor children; the faith of the common people in the Army personnel would be adversely affected if the sentence of the petitioner is suspended. The petitioner was an adult male and victims of the petitioner were minor girls,” it was argued..While deciding the case, the High Court referred to the Supreme Court’s verdict in Mossa Koya KP v. State (NCT of Delhi), in which the petitioner had undergone eight years' imprisonment of the total 10 years awarded in a NDPS Act case. His sentence was suspended owing to the improbability of an early hearing of his appeal.Justice Singh, therefore, held,“I am inclined to allow suspension of the sentence of the present applicant/appellant on execution of personal bond in the sum of ₹25,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Jail Superintendent, Central Jail, Gurugram, Haryana.”.The appellant was accordingly directed to attend the Court as and when the appeal was to be listed and not contact or visit any of the survivors..Advocates Ravinder Singh, Astha Sharma, Raveesha Gupta and Sanjeev Kaushik represented the appellant.Advocates Anjana Gosain, Shalini Nair and Ritika Kahnjwal appeared for the respondents..[Read Order]