Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Dec 18, 2012: Man gets 4 years for slashing woman's face

By , TNN | Dec 18, 2012, 03.34 AM IST
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has advocated zero tolerance towards attacks against women. Twenty years after Harun Shaikh, an Old Malegaon Road resident, used a barber's razor to disfigure the face of a woman who refused to continue relations with him, Justice R C Chavan refused to show any leniency to him. The judge said that Shaikh will have to serve his punishment - a prison term of four years. Shaikh's plea that the punishment is harsh since he is married and has children failed to find favour with the court.

"Though this argument has force, it is to be noted that Shaikh has not at all suffered any substantial incarceration and, therefore, considering the sentence of four years of imprisonment imposed for the disfiguration that he has inflicted upon the victim, no further reduction in the sentence is called for," said Justice Chavan.

Additional public prosecutor Y M Nakhwa told the court that in view of the serious nature of the injuries, Shaikh should have been held guilty on the much graver charge of attempt to murder. The trial court, though, considered the fact that Shaikh probably did not intend to kill the victim.

"The sentence of imprisonment for four years imposed on Shaikh is not much compared to the magnitude of the assault. The victim had suffered disfiguration and the sentence should therefore not be disturbed," Nakhwa told the court.

The case dates back to May 1992. Shaikh and the victim were in a relationship. When Shaikh got married to another person, the victim sought to end the relationship but Shaikh did not agree to it. When the victim refused to respond to his overtures, he attacked her with a razor. He slashed her abdomen, face and neck, causing serious injuries, which almost cost her her life, stated the medical reports.

A trial court held Shaikh guilty of causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon under Section 326 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to four years' imprisonment in 1993. Shaikh, who was out on bail for the most part, filed an appeal in 1993, which came up for hearing recently.
Link: Man gets 4 years for slashing woman's face

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