Madras High Court convicts POCSO accused; orders assistance to minor daughters of convict who are "invisible victims"

The Madras High Court recently convicted a man for the aggravated penetrative sexual assault of an eight-year old-girl, which had left her with lasting physical and psychological injuries including ruptured blood vessels in her eyes [State v Dandayutham]. .In a judgement passed on February 28, Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy noted that the trial court had perversely ignored the victim's stellar testimony and acquitted the accused man in 2014. Criticising the trial court's order, the High Court said:"On a cumulative reading of the entire evidence on record and the judgment of the Trial Court, even by exercising great restraint, it is to be stated that the judgment of the Trial Court is an affront on judicial conscience. Thus, I have no hesitation whatsoever in upturning the finding of the acquittal as to one of guilt."The High Court held the man guilty under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the offences of aggravated penetrative sexual assault, and illegal trespass into the victim's house. The Court sentenced him to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for the above offences.The bench further directed the Tamil Nadu (TN) government to pay ₹10.5 lakh as compensation to the victim. The judges observed that the victim had been subjected to immense physical and psychological violence. The accused had bitten her all over her body, and had tried to strangulate her after sexually assaulting her.This had led to the blood vessels in the victim's eyes rupturing, and oxygen supply to her brain being cut. She fell unconscious and suffered a sub-conjunctival hemorrhage. It was only because of the joint efforts of doctors from several local hospitals in Tiruppur district that she was brought back from the jaws of death, the Court noted.."The sexual assault was violent and barbaric leaving the tender child with serious physical lacerated wounds, bruises, contusions and a tear injury in her private part. Psychologically, her complete personality stood distracted and she was terrified. To call this assault 'animalistic', it will be injustice even to animals as they do not sexually assault young/baby animals," the High Court remarked..Notably, the Court also ordered the State to provide adequate financial or other requisite assistance to the three minor daughters of the convict as well as his wife who, the Court said, had become the "invisible victims" or "orphans of justice" due to no fault of theirs. "The whole scenario has been made more complex on account of the initial acquittal and thereafter being upturned into one of the guilt in the appeal against aquittal. These children are generally termed as “Orphans of Justice” or “Invisible Victims” or “Hidden Victims”. They are put to untold misery and deprivation without any fault on their part," the Court observed. .The Court ordered the State to ensure the continuance of education and nutrition of these minor children. Further, the State was asked to ensure that the convict's wife has a livelihood as well. .Government advocate Kishore Kumar appeared for the Tamil Nadu government. Advocate M Umashankar appeared for the convicted respondent..[Read Judgment]