It is not only ghastly but the rarest of rare crimes committed by a youth living under the Salepur Police Station in Cuttack district years back. The youth had raped his mother under the influence of alcohol.
Thanks to the man who could convince the son-raped wife not to commit suicide but to teach a heavy lesson to the son with legal help. Resultantly, the son, Rabindra Sahoo, was awarded with 10 years of imprisonment by the Sessions Court, and upheld by the Orissa High Court.
The whole episode came to light after the case was published in the Indian law Reports.
As per the judgement, intoxicated Rabindra had assaulted her mother with a bamboo stick and torn her saree. Thereafter, he abused her with filthy languages and raped her in broad daylight.
The incident shocked victim mother to such an extent that she decided to commit suicide to save face of the family. However, her husband came convinced her not to do that and took her to the Salepur police station for security and justice. Without delay, the Salipur police arrested the accused son. Both the victim mother and accused were medically examined.
Since the incident, the accused was in judicial custody. District Sessions Judge found the accused son guilty and awarded ten year imprisonment against which he appealed before the Odisha High Court in 2007.
Hearing this sensitive matter at length, Justice SK Sahoo upheld the judgement of conviction and ten-year punishment awarded to Rabindra.
While writing the judgment, the Judge posed questions to himself, can a mother be raped by her own son and can a mother bring false allegation of rape against her sonIJ
Finding no illegality and irregularity in the judgment, the High Court dismissed the criminal’s appeal and found the applicant guilty under Section 376 of the IPC and was of the opinion that awarding sentence of ten years rigorous imprisonment is just and proper for the rarest crime.
Before parting the case the Judge observed, “I would humbly say that a mother plays a very special and important role in a man’s life. The son gets unconditional love from his mother. The son completes the womanhood of his mother. Mother makes a man out of a boy. The mother-son relationship and their emotional bond are dynamic. It is said that God cannot be everywhere and that is why he made mothers. let us respect our mother who not only brought us to this world but struggle so hard to make us a complete man.”
In the beginning Justice Sahoo quoted Adikabi Balmiki’s Epic Ramayan, “Api Swarnamayi lanka Na Mein lakshmana Rochate Janani Janmabhumischa Swargadapi Gariyasi.”