[POCSO Act] Calcutta High Court upholds conviction, life sentence of tutor who raped minor girl

The Calcutta High Court on Friday upheld the conviction and life sentence imposed on a tutor convicted of raping a minor girl [Abbas Sk @ Abbas Hossain]..A division bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Ananya Bandyopadhyay said the present case has shattered the confidence of the society in the relationship of a teacher and a student."The relationship between a teacher and a student is considered to be pious in Indian society. The victim girl under no circumstances would fabricate or concoct such a gruesome incident causing excruciating pain to her body as evident from the testimony of the witnesses, who stated that the victim was tossing on bed," the bench observed. .The Court further said that the victim, who was hardly 8-years old, would not have imagined such a "cruel, deplorable and despicable" act on her body which at such a tender age would devastate her entire persona and haunt her in the future. "The victim girl of 8/9 years of age generally considers a teacher with high regard and respect. The family entrusting the children at the disposal of a teacher could never imagine the commission of such horrifying act disrupting their trust in a tutor or a teacher. This is not a crime or blow against a victim girl but entirely a catastrophe dismantling the strata of social confidence in the relationship between a teacher and a student," the bench said..It was hearing a criminal appeal filed by one Abbas SK challenging his conviction under section 376(3) (raping a minor) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He had also challenged the sentence of life imprisonment imposed by the special court on him in February 2019. As per the prosecution case, the convict was a tutor in the village of the victim. He raped the victim on May 8, 2018 and then fled from the spot. He also inflicted some injuries on the minor. .The bench noted that the girl's testimony was reliable and inspired confidence. It also noted from the statements of various prosecution witnesses that the commission of offence was proved against the convict."In absence of any other credible evidence the sole testimony of the victim whose tender body and mind suffered immensely subjected to such pain on record is sufficient to establish the prosecution case. Minor contradictions in her evidence do not affect the prosecution case as the medical report vividly describes the commission of the offence upon the victim," the Court said. The Court, therefore, dismissed the appeal and upheld the conviction and sentence. .[Read Judgment]