Flashback 2014: The year that saw a rise in offences against women in courts

New Delhi, Dec 24: An alarming rise in cases of sexual offences against women and children by Delhi's trial courts in 2014 remained a major concern notwithstanding few successful prosecutions, including Dhaula Kuan gangrape case involving a woman from north-east.

Exactly 45 days after the five rapists in the Dhaula Kuan case were sentenced to life term, the national capital was shamed again when a woman executive was raped by the driver of a US-based cab service provider putting a question mark on prosecution as the accused turned out to be a repeat offender committing the fresh crime while out on bail in a 2013 case.

The year gone by also witnessed some contentious decisions of acquittals and remarks that courted controversies with one judge terming "pre-marital sex" as "immoral" and against "tenets of every religion" and another judge holding that "sexual relations between legally wedded husband and wife, even if forcible, is not rape".

However, away from the above two cases, a Tis Hazari court came out with an important verdict in which it said "because a woman is a sex worker, it does not confer a right upon anyone to violate her dignity," and awarded 10 years jail to four youths for abducting and gang raping a Rwandan refugee.

PTI