Babar v The Queen

Babar appealed against his sentence for raping a customer while working as an Uber driver. The Supreme Court of Victoria dismissed the appeal, holding that the original sentence was not manifestly excessive and that the judge had appropriately considered the time spent in immigration detention and other mitigation factors. The respondent, the Attorney-General for the State of Victoria, submitted that the sentence was within the range of appropriate penalties for such a serious crime and that the judge had adequately taken into account all relevant factors. The court found that the sentence was not manifestly excessive and that the judge had appropriately considered the defendant's time spent in immigration detention and other mitigating factors. The court held that the sentence was within the range of appropriate penalties for such a serious crime. The court considered the cases of Sahhitanandan v The Queen [2019] VSCA 115 and Underwood (a pseudonym) v The Queen (No 2) [2018] VSCA 87 in reaching its decision. The appeal was dismissed.