Reporting Sexual Offences Can Bring Disrepute To Family; They Had No Reason To Falsely Implicate Accused: Bombay HC Upholds POCSO Conviction
The Bombay High Court upheld the conviction of an accused in a POCSO case observing that the family of the victim had no reason to falsely implicate the accused considering that reporting of sexual offences brings disrepute to the family.
The Court noted there were no inconsistencies or discrepancies in the evidence presented by the mother of the victim as to the occurrence of the incident as narrated by the victim. The Court stated that even if it were to be assumed for the sake of argument that there was an enmity between the accused and the parents of the victim, the parents would not jeopardize the future of their daughter.
A Single Bench of Justice G.A. Sanap observed, “The parents of the victim had no reason to falsely implicate the accused. If they wanted to falsely implicate the accused, then the PW-2 mother of the victim would have created an imaginary story of molesting her own modesty. In our conservative society, even on account of family enmity, the future and career of the girl is not jeopardized. In my view, this is a strong circumstance in favour of the prosecution.”
Advocate A. M. Balpande appeared for the appellant, while APP S. S. Hulke represented the respondent.
The prosecution case: The Victim, who was in fifth standard at the time of the incident, had gone to her friend’s house. The accused, who was the father of the friend, took advantage of the situation and called her near him and committed the “shameful act” of pressing her legs and breasts and asking her to touch a part of his body after opening his zip.
The accused was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years for the offence under Section 9(m) punishable under Section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) and to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three years for the offence punishable under Section 8 of the POCSO Act.
The defence argued that the accused was falsely implicated in the case on account of enmity with the parents of the victim.
The Nagpur Bench explained that the conduct of the victim was not unnatural as she must have been taken aback on account of such a “shameful act” by a father figure. “She must be spending anxious moments on account of this surprise sprang by the accused,” the Court added.
“At this stage, it is necessary to state that in ordinary circumstances, even if it is assumed for the sake of argument that there was an enmity between the accused and the parents of the victim, they would not have even thought of jeopardizing the future of their daughter. The sexual offence at the first instance is traumatic for the victim. In such a crime, where the girl is involved, an attempt is made to avoid reporting of such a crime. The reporting of such a crime can bring disrepute to the family,” the Court stated.
Consequently, the Court upheld the decision of the trial court and held, “The conviction and sentence, on the basis of the available evidence, has been fully justified. In this case, no interference is warranted in the well reasoned judgment and order passed by the learned Sessions Judge.”
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the appeal.
Cause Title: Vinod v. State of Maharashtra (Neutral Citation: 2024:BHC-NAG:7582)
