Unnao verdict: When MLA isn’t ‘public servant’

A public servant has a higher sentence than a person who is not a public servant. If the accused is not a “public servant”, the offence falls under Section 4 of POCSO, which prescribes a minimum of 7 years rigorous imprisonment (10 years after the 2019 amendment), extendable to life, instead of the minimum 20 years to life imprisonment under Section 5