State Must Enact Law & Impose Severe Punishments Against Sexual Offenders Who Are Family Members Or Close Friends: Madras HC
The Madras High Court has observed that the State must enact law and impose severe punishments against those involved in sexual offences who are family members or close friends.
The Madurai Bench observed thus in a Criminal Appeal preferred by the accused against the Judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the Sessions Judge for the offence punishable under Sections 5(l), 5(n), 5(j)(ii) read with 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act).
A Division Bench of Justice G.R. Swaminathan and Justice R. Poornima remarked, “We are of the opinion that it is for the State to take serious efforts to curtail the offence by enacting the law and impose severe punishments to those involved in sexual offence are family members or close friends. The state should take immediate steps to protect the children from the sexual offence by providing awareness programme in all television channels, theatre, schools. The Child Welfare Committee should visit hostels, schools etc., to see that any child affected with sexual harassment and take necessary action.”
The Bench further emphasised that the State should provide funds to open protection home for the children aged between 1 to 17 years in order to protect them from sexual offences.
Advocate S. Siva Subramanian appeared for the Appellant/Accused while Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) E. Antony Sahaya Prabahar appeared for the Respondent/State.
Factual Background -
As per the prosecution case, the Complainant was the mother of the victim girl and the accused was the Complainant’s husband. He was the step father of the victim as her biological father had died when she was four months old. She was looked after by her grandparents. The accused informed the Complainant that they should bring the victim from her parents and keep with them. He compelled her and brought her daughter home and she joined 10th standard in the Government Higher Secondary School. One day, the victim complained about stomach-ache and hence, the accused took her to the hospital. After scanning, the accused informed the Complainant (mother) that she was pregnant by six months.
When she enquired as to what happened, the victim informed her that, when the Complainant and the children had gone to the Church, she was staying alone in the residence, the accused hugged her and raped her. She further informed that the accused misbehaved with her and threatened that she should not reveal about the incident to anybody. Due to fear, she could not reveal the same. Accordingly, an FIR was lodged against the accused under the provisions of the POCSO Act and Section 506(i) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Trial Court convicted the accused and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life along with a fine of Rs. 5,000/-. Being aggrieved, the accused approached the High Court.
The High Court in the above context of the case, noted, “This is the pathetic story of a child who had lost her father when she was four months old. She was under the care and custody of her grandparents after her mother married the accused, she remained with them till she attained the age of 13. The accused had cast his covetous eyes on her, brought the child to his house and spoiled her life after knowing fully well about her helplessness and threatened her to not to reveal the same to anybody. Poor girl due to fear and shame could not reveal the same to anybody, till she became pregnant. When she suffered pain, the accused after knowing fully well that his wife would take her to the hospital and would come to know about his illegal act, he himself took her to the doctor. During enquiry P.W.2 the victim girl deposed that the accused introduced himself to the Doctor as her husband.”
The Court said that, it is disturbing that in all the records pertaining to the victim girl viz., birth certificate, school records, and other records, the name of the accused is mentioned as the father and that the Complainant married the accused with fond hope that he would look after her minor child and that is why she gave his name as father in all the school records, but he shattered her faith.
“After taking advantage of the fact that the victim child was totally dependant upon him, he molested her, and threatened her that she should not reveal the same to anyone or he will kill everyone in the house. It reveals from the evidence that in the residence, except P.W1, nobody was there to take care of the victim, in such situation no one could expect that the child would disclose her ugly experience to her mother or others”, it observed.
Furthermore, the Court remarked that in our society till date, the girl who undergoes sexual assault is not treated equally with others but treated by society as if she committed a sin and that is the reason for many of them not revealing the same to anyone.
“The trauma undergone by the victim who had believed a person from the child hood as father shattered her expectations and caused physical and physiological injury which is unexplainable. The physical injury could be healed by efflux of time but the mental agony undergone by the child would subsist till her life time”, it also noted.
The Court said that, when the child met with such harassment, travel with deep wound till her lifetime and many of cases are left unreported due to the family prestige and future life of the child, therefore, many accused escape without punishment.
“Majority of cases of sexual offence goes unnoticed and unreported on account of the innocence of the victim, stigma attached, callousness of investigation etc., child sexual abuse is a universal problem which include the physical and psychological maltreatment of child. … there is no material available to interfere with the judgment of the trial Court”, it concluded.
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the Criminal Appeal and upheld the conviction.
Cause Title- X v. The State
