Punjab and Haryana High Court Upholding Conviction in Child Sexual Assault Case
Judgement Given On :
Introduction
The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently upheld the conviction of a man for committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault on his 6-year-old nephew in 2017. The Court also upheld the sentence of cumulative 10 years of imprisonment under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case highlighted the importance of stringent punishments in cases of child sexual abuse, even when the crime occurred before the enhancement of penalties under the POCSO Act.
Background
The accused, who was the maternal uncle (mama) of the victim, was convicted under Section 377 of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act for committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault on his nephew. The prosecution had presented a strong case with the examination of eight witnesses, leading to the trial court’s decision to sentence the accused to 10 years of imprisonment.
The defense argued that the accused had been falsely implicated due to a financial dispute and personal enmity with the victim’s father. It was also claimed that the victim, a young child, did not testify in court due to his inability to understand or provide reasonable responses.
Legal Analysis
The High Court rejected the appeal and upheld the conviction. Justice Deepak Gupta observed that the sentence of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment imposed by the trial court was justified due to the increasing number of such crimes and the close relationship between the accused and the victim. He pointed out that the accused, as the maternal uncle, had a duty to protect the child but instead acted as a perpetrator.
The court emphasized that the absence of the victim’s testimony should not undermine the credibility of the prosecution’s case. The consistent statements of the victim’s parents, who reported the crime to the police, were deemed reliable. It was noted that their accounts were “quite consistent,” describing how they found their child weeping bitterly with blood on his hand and trouser after the assault.
The court rejected the possibility of false implication due to strained relations between the accused and the victim’s father. The judges believed that the situation where the mother and her children sought shelter with their parental family was common in India, making it unlikely for strained relations to endanger a child’s safety.
The court concluded that the defense’s argument had been correctly dismissed by the trial court. It also noted that the absence of minute details like blood on the child’s clothing in the First Information Report (FIR) should not undermine the credibility of the parents’ statements. The FIR was not expected to contain all details and that the immediate priority was to report the crime and seek medical examination.
Conclusion
The Vibhu Dayal Sharma case underscores the importance of upholding strict penalties for child sexual abuse and the need for a robust legal framework. The court’s decision emphasized the duty of family members and the community to protect children and the courts’ responsibility to take crimes against children seriously. While the absence of a child’s testimony may create challenges, the credibility of other witnesses and consistent accounts can still lead to a conviction. The ruling sets a precedent for justice in child sexual abuse cases and promotes the welfare and safety of young victims.