An HIV positive man was sentenced to 25 years in jail by a local court for raping his minor stepdaughter and infecting her with the virus. The court also granted a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the victim. Of the 25 years, 10 were for rape, 10 for an attempt to murder and five for causing miscarriage of pregnancy. The convict – an HIV positive patient who also had tuberculosis – knowingly raped his minor stepdaughter fully aware he might kill her.
The court also discussed the laws from across the world relating to transmission of STDs saying the offenders are usually held guilty on various accounts including the intent to cause grievous harm.
“The courts of England, Wales, US and Canada while dealing with similar issues relating to transmission of sexually transmitted disease or infections have uniformly held the violators guilty under various penal provisions such as Grievous Hurt, Recklessly causing serious body harm etc. (which include cases where a person has full knowledge of his HIV Positive status),” the judge said.
The court added that the exception has been made only in those cases where the other partner consents to risk and where it has been proved to be an informed consent.
