The Hindu : Supreme Court stays order on Swiss couple

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 01, 2004

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Supreme Court stays order on Swiss couple

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 31. The Supreme Court today stayed the operation of a Bombay High Court judgment, reducing the sentence awarded to a Swiss couple, convicted for sexual exploitation of children and permitting them to leave the country on payment of compensation Rs. 1 lakh each to six child victims.

A three-judge Bench, comprising the Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice S.H. Kapadia, granted the stay during "mention" time and posted the case for hearing on April 5 of a special leave petition filed by the Maharashtra Government against the impugned High Court judgment dated March 15.

A Mumbai Sessions Court in March 20-03 had convicted Marti Wilheim, 64, and his wife Lily Marti, 61, both Swiss nationals, to seven years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 5,000 each in respect of three children identified as victims of sexual exploitation. The charge against the couple was that the children were used for pornography. Arrested for the incident that took place in December 2000, they continued to remain in prison.

On appeal, the couple contended before the High Court that they would not contest their conviction, if their sentence was reduced. The High Court modified the sentence holding that no useful purpose would be served by keeping the accused in custody for seven years. The period of three years and three months, which the accused had suffered in jail, would be sufficient to meet the ends of justice, the Court said and directed their release on the payment of Rs. 1 lakh each as compensation for the six children, identified by them as victims of sexual exploitation. The High Court had directed the prosecuting agency to release the passports of the couple after they deposited Rs. 6 lakhs.

Acting on a tip-off provided by a local NGO — Forum Against Child Sexual Exploitation — the Malad police had raided the premises of the Swiss couple in Mumbai and recovered three children along with pornographic pictures made on them for sale. During investigation, police found that the couple had engaged six children in sexual exploitation.

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