Conviction Hindu and Hindu-derived contexts Satbari, South Delhi, India · 2021

India: Delhi temple priest given life imprisonment for raping two young girls

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Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

temple priest with a routine care role over children at the temple

Organization

No organization assigned

Archive classification

This is the archive's application of its published inclusion test. The cited record appears below.

The court's own words state the nexus: children at the temple, under its priest, in what should have been the safest room in their world.

Pastoral or clerical authority

Evidence structure

Proceedings

2021-08-06 · conviction and life sentence

Additional Sessions Court (POCSO), Delhi, India. Vishwa Bandhu, 76, priest of a temple at Satbari village in South Delhi, was convicted of repeatedly raping two girls aged seven and nine over about a week in August 2014 at the temple where they were in his care. On 6 August 2021 Additional Sessions Judge Vijeta Singh Rawat sentenced him to life imprisonment and awarded ₹7.5 lakh compensation, observing that he had 'desecrated the temple where children should have had a safe time'.

Documented coercion mechanisms

priest's charge over children spending time at the temple

Cited record

Sources

legal news court reporting verdict and sentencing report 'Desecrated The Temple Where Children Should Have Had A Safe Time': Delhi Court Sentences Priest To Life Imprisonment', LiveLaw, 6 Aug. 2021.: Legal-news report of the sentencing.
national news agency sentencing report PTI via Outlook: 'Delhi court sentences priest to life imprisonment for raping two minor girls'.: Wire report naming the defendant and confirming sentence.
national newspaper court reporting investigative report Newslaundry ground report from Satbari, 18 Aug. 2021.: Independent ground reporting from the village.

Source provenance

Source access and integrity log

This log records source retrieval and file integrity. It does not mean that an automated process independently confirmed every statement in the source.

Source and tier basis: https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/delhi-court-life-imprisonment-priest-minor-rape-compensation-179020 Corpus classification: legal-news-court-reporting; evidentiary role: verdict-and-sentencing-report. SHA-256 5ee0cc6f7139bc5ba5892d32de0a9e946674885d3be82043d07bb66868d9f6fc
Retrieval: 2026-07-20 · Preserved; Bound by Fear automated source-preservation ledger
Source and tier basis: https://outlookindia.com/newsscroll/delhi-court-sentences-priest-to-life-imprisonment-for-raping-two-minor-girls/2136531 Corpus classification: national-news-agency; evidentiary role: sentencing-report. SHA-256 4dbe53204727189cc0b70c74b9fd1ad081fb7b166af0910d4ad762eb75be79a5
Retrieval: 2026-07-20 · Preserved; Bound by Fear automated source-preservation ledger
Source and tier basis: https://www.newslaundry.com/2021/08/18/they-made-a-big-deal-out-of-nothing-delhi-village-comes-to-terms-with-temple-priests-rape-conviction Corpus classification: national-newspaper-court-reporting; evidentiary role: investigative-report. SHA-256 170a268ae7f737a685c4f19fbbce82c63b89143dbb0618a4161838d785aadc3c
Retrieval: 2026-07-20 · Preserved; Bound by Fear automated source-preservation ledger

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