In Brief
Elumalai was convicted of rape under Section 376 IPC of a minor girl (the prosecutrix) and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Sessions Court, with that sentence upheld by the Madras High Court. Elumalai filed a criminal appeal. The Supreme Court noted that the prosecutrix and Elumalai had married in June 2013 and were living happily with their child. The prosecutrix herself filed a petition stating that Elumalai's continued incarceration would cause her immense hardship. Elumalai's father had also settled agricultural land worth 20 cents in the prosecutrix's favour. The Court held that under Article 142, given the peculiar circumstances and the prosecutrix's expressed desire to spare her husband further imprisonment, the sentence should be modified to the period already undergone (less than 4 years)."
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