Indian movie producer face risk of seven years imprisonment over rape case

Indian film-maker Mahmood Farooqui has been
found guilty of raping an American research
student at his Delhi home in March 2015.

Farooqui, who co-directed the 2010 release
Peepli Live, with his wife Anusha Rizvi, faces
seven years to life in prison, according to the
Indian Express. The court is slated to hear
arguments Tuesday before sentencing him.

The case first came to light when the victim, who
was a student from Columbia University, filed a
police complaint which led to Farooqui's arrest
last June. He was later released on bail as the
case went to trial in September.
The case is seen as a landmark as its verdict has
been delivered under a 2013 amendment to the
criminal law which included forced oral sex as a
crime, the complainant's counsel Vrinda Grover
told the Express.

"This is perhaps one of the first cases of
forced oral sex, which shows two things:
that there was a crime for which we did
not earlier have an offense named, now it
has been recognized as rape. We're also
very happy to see that the court relied on
very credible evidence that the woman
gave."

The brutal gang-rape of a young Delhi woman on
a moving bus in New Delhi on December 16,
2012 sparked nationwide protests. The outcry led
to a call for action against crimes against women
which included legal amendments and fast-
tracking rape cases.
Farooqui was first introduced to the student, who
is in her thirties, by Danish Hussain, a long-time
friend of the director. Local reports said that
Hussain, in his testimony, said that the victim
immediately contacted him after she was
assaulted by Farooqui.

According to the Express, the 2012 incident was
also referred to in the testimony of the American
woman who told the court that she "did not
resist" the rape because she feared she would
also be killed like the Delhi gang-rape victim.
Farooqui is expected to appeal the verdict and the
case could go to a higher court.

"Our fight for justice is by no means
over," his wife Anusha Rizvi told the
Hindustan Times. "We will approach the
High Court for justice that has been
denied to us."