MBA student sent to jail for 7 years for raping live-in partner

An MBA student convicted of raping his live-in partner several times after promising to marry her was on Friday sentenced to seven years in jail by a Delhi court.

Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna handed down the jail term to 31-year-old Hari Mohan Sharma after holding him guilty of ravishing an LL.B student.

"Considering the fact and circumstances, the nature of offence involved, I sentence convict Hari Mohan Sharma for the offence punishable under section 376 (rape) of IPC to rigorous imprisonment for seven years..," the court said and imposed Rs 5,000 as costs on the convict.

The judge recommended that "appropriate compensation, under section 357-A CrPC, be awarded to the prosecutrix and hence, a copy of this order be sent to the Secretary, Delhi Legal Service Authority, New Delhi, for deciding the quantum of compensation to be awarded to her under the scheme referred to in sub section 1 of section 357-A CrPC." 

CrPC was amended in 2008 on the recommendations of the Law Commission and Section 357A was introduced under which the court is empowered to direct the State to pay compensation to the victim. 

Sharma, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested and later faced trial in the case lodged by his partner in which she alleged he had raped her several times between December 2010 and January 2011 on the pretext of marrying her. 

The police said the girl had lodged a complaint in August 2011 when she became pregnant and Sharma had refused to marry her, saying his parents are against their affair. 

Sharma had denied the rape allegation against him during the trial and said he has been falsely implicated. 

The court, however, had brushed aside Sharma's plea and said a live-in relationship is not merely residing together, but it is about the commitment to be with the loved one in future as well. 

Observing that the girl was forced to abort the foetus, the court had said while convicting the man that "concept of live in relationship does not mean merely residing together, rather, it means to live in a commitment or in a relation of being together in future. 

"In our society, when a woman enters into this kind of relationship, she has in her mind only a marriage in future. However, when such relationship ends abruptly, it means a lot to the woman," it had said. 

The court had said, "The intention of the accused, right from the beginning, was never honest and he kept on promising her that he would marry her." 

It had also said the accused very well knew that his father would be against the love marriage and would not pay his fee for education but even then he continued "misusing" the girl till she became pregnant.