Two men accused of raping their 10-year-old niece have been sentenced to life imprisonment by a fast track court in Chandigarh.
Earlier on Tuesday, the court held both the accused guilty of raping their 10-year-old niece, who had delivered a baby in August this year after the Supreme Court dismissed her abortion plea, the lawyers for the men said.
The verdict was delivered by additional district and sessions Judge Poonam R Judge, said Manjit Singh, who is representing the elder of the two brothers.
The maternal uncles of the child were charged under Section 376 (2) (f) (i) (rape on a woman when she is under twelve years of age) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), the counsel said.
The crime came to light in July when the child was taken to a hospital after she complained of a stomach ache and was found to be over 30 weeks pregnant.
On July 28, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking its nod to terminate the 32-week pregnancy after taking note of a medical report that abortion was neither good for the girl nor for the foetus.
The child was told by her family and the doctors that she had a stone in her stomach that had to be removed. It was earlier suspected that her elder uncle had fathered the baby, who was delivered through C-section at a government hospital here in August.
