New Delhi: A youth who deceived his wife and minor girlfriend by maintaining relations with both of them has been sentenced to three years in jail by a Delhi court.
The court said 23-year-old Sanjay Singh`s act is "morally unpardonable and legally punishable" as he first played with the emotions of a 16-year-old minor girl and then married another woman despite maintaining his relationship.
It also said that Singh, after consummating his marriage, again wanted to revive his relationship with the girl on the pretext of love.
"The convict has messed with the lives of two young girls (one of whom is still a minor) and he deserves no mercy. Courts of law are under an obligation to protect the interest of minors particularly young girls.
"It is necessary to ensure that any person who subject the young girls of tender, vulnerable and impressionable age with immature understanding to any kind of exploitation whether mental, emotional, psychological and physical are taken to task," Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau.
The court held Singh guilty of kidnapping the minor and also cheating her and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on him. The court, however, acquitted the other three accused.
According to prosecution, a case of kidnapping, rape and criminal intimidation was filed against Singh and three others in 2011 but during the trial, the case took a different turn.
The police had said Singh and other three accused including a woman had kidnapped the minor and had taken her to Meerut where she was repeatedly raped.
During the trial, it came to the court`s knowledge that the minor and Singh were known to each other from past three years and their love affair started when she was 13-year-old.
The girl had eloped with Singh last year and stayed several days in Meerut and also developed physical relations. Despite his relations with the minor, Singh got married to another woman and after sometime, again contacted the girl to resume their relationship saying he was not happy with his wife and wanted to give divorce to her.
Singh was caught by the police after the minor`s family lodged a complaint that their daughter was missing. The girl, after realising that she was being cheated by the accused, tried to commit suicide twice.
"It was then revealed that accused Singh had fraudulently or dishonestly induced the minor to elope with him on the pretext and promise to marry her after divorcing his wife with whom he claimed that he had no relations and thereby deceived the girl," the court said.
It also noted that Singh betrayed the trust and deceived everyone including his parents, his wife and the minor.
PTI
