The Chhattisgarh High Court has upheld the life imprisonment of a man convicted for the sexual assault and murder of a 55-year-old destitute woman with mental illness and observed that he had not only exploited her “helpless condition”, but also subjected her to “inhuman violence”. Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, while dismissing the accused’s appeal, held that the case is not merely an instance of a “criminal act resulting in the death of a woman”, but a “grave assault” on the fundamental values of human dignity , bodily integrity, and the rule of law.  “The evidence on record unmistakably establishes that the deceased was a woman suffering from mental instability, living in conditions of extreme vulnerability. Such individuals require protection, care and societal support.…