Heard, convicted and sentenced in a day: Special POCSO Judge convicts man for rape of 8-year-old

A Special Judge in Bihar recently sentenced a man to life imprisonment for sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after examining ten witnesses, hearing the case and passing an order of conviction and sentence in one day (State v. Dilip Kumar Yadav)..Special POCSO Judge Shashi Kant Rai at Araria held that a man aged about 30 years was guilty for the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl, and convicted him under Sections 376 AB (punishment for rape on woman under twelve years of age) of Indian Penal Code and Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act..The Special Public Prosecutor in the case submitted that medical as well as ocular evidence pointed to the guilt of the accused. The case of the defence was one of general denial..The Court did not find merit in the denial, and relying greatly on the testimony of the survivor herself, noted that she explained the incident in a lucid manner and there was no reason to disbelieve her. The order stated,“Nothing has been extracted from the mouth of this witness. She has remained steadfast and consistent and nothing has been elicited in order to demolish her trustworthiness and credibility.”.Discussing the point of a child witness’ testimony, the judge found that it passed all the tests and that the consistency of her statement made it reliable. The Court discussed the judgment of the Supreme Court in Sakhare Vs. State of Maharastra in which it was held that if a child witness is found to be competent, such evidence could be the basis of conviction.Therefore, after considering ten witness testimonies, the Court ruled that the accused was guilty of sexual assault..While hearing the point of the sentence the very same day, the judge heard submissions from both parties. The convict submitted that he was the only earning member of his poor family and maintained that he was not involved in any other offence. He prayed that the Court take a lenient view while sentencing him.The Public Prosecutor urged the Court to consider the manner in which the rape was committed and prescribe the maximum punishment..The Court then took into account the offence, its impact on society and the increasing trend of sexual assault and rape cases, while concluding that the convict did not deserve any leniency.“...I am of the opinion that the offence which have been committed by the accused who is aged about 30 years and age of the victim girl who is a 8-9 years old who is about 20 years younger to accused who had not yet developed any sign of secondary sex, the accused does not deserve any leniency.”.It was noted that precedent required sentencing to be proportionate to the magnitude and gravity of the crime, and not be unduly lenient. The convict was thus sentenced to life imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life as well as a fine of ₹50,000, 75 per cent of which would be given to the rape survivor.The rape survivor was found to be entitled to compensation under the Victim Compensation Scheme and the Araria District Legal Services Authority was directed to pay her ₹2,00,000..Advocate Shyam Lal Yadav appeared for the prosecution and the defence was represented by panel lawyer Vineet Prakash..[Read Order]