Punjab and Haryana HC dismisses appeal for suspension of sentence for parading woman naked

The Punjab and Haryana High Court Thursday dismissed a petition for suspension of a four-year-long sentence of a convict who had cut hair of a Dalit woman with a pair of scissors, blackened her face with burnt oil, stripped her naked and paraded on a ‘Rehri’ in Kamrewala village, Fazilka district, in May 2013.

Justice Rajan Gupta while taking note of the heinous crime said, “Mere long incarceration cannot be a ground to suspend the sentence. The judge, while admitting the petition filed by accused Dayal Singh, said, “In view of the gruesome crime and allegations of outraging the modesty of a woman in full public view, prayer for suspension of the sentence is hereby rejected.”

The victim’s husband was also assaulted by the accused and no villager had came forward to rescue them. Later, an FIR was filed by the victim’s son. The trial court had initially sentenced the accused to one year of imprisonment but later the appellate court had enhanced the sentence to four years on the ground that a heinous crime had been committed.

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