Children's mental health paramount: Sikkim HC finds man guilty of driving girl to suicide by sexually assaulting her

The Sikkim High Court recently upheld the conviction of a 42-year-old man who was found guilty in 2023 of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old schoolgirl and abetting her suicide.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan said that the prosecution succeeded in proving that heinous acts of the convict Chewang Sherpa had led the victim to suicide in 2021.

"The evidence led by the prosecution is of conclusive nature and all reasonable hypothesis of innocence is excluded. A solid, unbroken chain of evidence has been established which confirms that it was the appellant who was guilty of the acts for which he has been convicted which led the victim to commit suicide," the Court said.

In the ruling delivered on July 10, the Court also noted that the convict had previously been convicted in a criminal case under Section 458 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night after preparation for hurt, assault, or wrongful restraint), and raised concern over the effectiveness of State's rehabilitation system.

“We express our concern about the effectiveness of the rehabilitation scheme in the State Central Prison at Rongyek. He has gone and committed another crime again and more heinous than the previous one,” the Bench observed.

Pertinently, the Court also made an impassioned plea for the mental health of children, particularly young girls trapped in traumatic situations.

"We draw the attention of the State to the mental health conditions of our children both in the rural as well as in the urban areas. We implore it to take not only substantive measures but have a structured plan keeping in mind that the healthy mind of a child is paramount for the growth of our State and our Country at large," the Bench said.

It called for scientific evaluation of the working of the schemes meant for improving mental health of citizens.

"We express our deep sense of worry on the issue of mental health of our children after reading the laments of the victim in her suicide note which we hesitate to reproduce here. The mental health of a child, and in this case a girl child, is a matter of serious concern," the Court said.

The Court was dealing with a case dating back to August 20, 2021.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, the victim, a class XII student, had gone to her school to submit exam papers. On her way back, she encountered the accused who belonged to her village. Trusting him, she accepted a ride in a taxi he had hired.

When they got down near a local monastery amidst heavy rain, they took shelter in a waiting shed. It was here that Sherpa made unwelcome sexual advances. Terrified, the girl fled into the nearby jungle. Sherpa chased her through the slippery terrain, eventually pinning her down near a local childcare center. He then sexually assaulted her.

Deeply traumatized, the young girl returned home. In an attempt to shield her father from what she was about to do, she handed him her phone to watch a Nepali movie. She then went to her room, penned a detailed account of the assault in her school notebook, and ended her life.

In 2023, the accused was convicted under various provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) and Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Challenging his conviction in the case, Sherpa’s counsel argued that the investigation was faulty and that a contradiction by a forensic expert during cross-examination meant the suicide note was not fully authenticated.

However, the High Court rejected the arguments and ruled that the suicide note served as a flawless dying declaration under Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act.

"The acts of the appellant including the sexual assault upon the victim was found to be so despicable, humiliating, deplorable and intolerable, that she felt a deep sense of defilement and was unable to face anyone driving her to commit suicide," the Court said.

While the High Court agreed entirely with the trial court's assessment of guilt, it modified the sentencing order. Besides provisions of POCSO Act, the accused had been convicted by the trial court under Section 354A (sexual harassment) as well.

Under Section 42 of the POCSO Act and Section 71 of the IPC, when an offence is punishable under different laws, the harsher punishment applies. Consequently, the High Court set aside the separate 3-year sentence for sexual harassment, noting it was already covered by the weightier sexual assault charge under Section 7/8 of POCSO Act.

"The impugned judgment of conviction is upheld but the order on sentence is accordingly modified. The sentences shall run concurrently," the Court ordered.

Advocate Thupden Youngda appeared for the convict.

Additional Public Prosecutor SK Chettri with Assistant Public Prosecutor Sujan Sunwar appeared for the State.

[Read Judgment]