A Delhi court recently awarded a life sentence to a man who was convicted of raping and breaking two teeth by fist blow to a 5-year-old minor on the day of Bhai Dooj. This case pertains to an FIR registered at a police station in the North West District in the year 2019. The court said that sexual abuse of children is a crime against humanity and society.
The court said that the psychological scars of sexual abuse during childhood are indelible, and they keep haunting the individual forever, thereby hindering their proper physical and psychological development. While sentencing the convict, the court referred to the remarks by Renee Fredrickson, a psychologist and author, on repressed memories.
“During sexual abuse, children feel and incorporate the rage, pain, shame, and sense of perversion that the perpetrator is projecting. They take these feelings into the very core of themselves, and they are badly traumatized by the emotions surrounding the assault as well as by the assault itself,” the court said, quoting Fredrickson.
Additional Sessions Judge (POCSO) Sushil Bala Dagar of Rohini Court sentenced the convict to life imprisonment for the offense under Section 6 of POCSO. The convict has been additionally sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for kidnapping and for causing grievous harm.
The court has also imposed a fine of a total of Rs. 50,000 in all three sections. The court said that a clear message that anyone who violates the POCSO Act will be held accountable for their actions must be sent to society at large by imposing a penalty that is proportionate to the act of sexual assault or sexual harassment.
“The cases of sexual assault on children are examples of perverse lust for sex where even innocent children are not spared in pursuit of sexual pleasure. Children are the cherished human resources and future of our nation,” the POCSO judge said in the order passed on July 11.
She further said, The aspiration of the future of India lies with the children, but it is a matter of great misfortune that children, including minor girls and boys, are in an extremely vulnerable position.
“The persons, like the convict, use various modes for exploiting the children, including sexual assault and sexual abuse. Such exploitation by way of sexual abuse of children is a crime against humanity and society. Every child, whether belonging to rural or urban areas, rich or poor deserves special care and protection, and the fundamental right of the child not to be exploited despite being alone is of paramount importance. It is the duty of the courts, the police, and the masses at large that proper legal protection is given to every child.”
The court pointed out that in a patriarchal society like ours, everyone is quick to blame the victim child involved in any such incident of penetrative sexual assault. A child who is subjected to sexual abuse needs to be protected even more so that no mental harassment is meted out to the child by anyone.
The court also cast a duty on society and said that it is the responsibility of society as a whole to take care of its children and to protect them from their physiological and psychological exploitation at the hands of sexual abusers.
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“This Court expresses distress and agony over the increasing rate of crimes against children. The five-year-old girl, who went to her maternal grandparents’ house for the Bhai Dooj festival, was supposed to spend time in cheerfulness but was dealt with animal-like passion at the hands of the convict. Her dignity and the purity of her physical frame were shattered. The plight of the child and the shock suffered by her and her family members can be well visualized. The anguish on the child has the capability to destroy the poise and self-control of any civilized person,” the court said.
The saying that a child is a gift to society seems absurd, due to a person like the convict. The victim child, for no fault of hers, had to bear such torment at the hands of the convict, it added.
It further observed, “The sexual offense may be an isolated act for the convict; however, the said act deeply impacts the life of an innocent child.”
“Thus, the penalty awarded to the convict should be commensurate with the gravity of the heinous act so as to serve as an effective deterrent to like-minded persons. However, the mitigating circumstances should also not be lost sight of while awarding the sentence,” the judge said in the order.
The counsel for the convict submitted that the convict is about 28 years old. He is unmarried. He is illiterate and was doing labor work, earning Rs. 9000 per month before his custody. The convict has three unmarried brothers and three unmarried sisters. The convict is the eldest, and he was supporting his parents by working as a laborer.
On the other hand, the Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) for the State, assisted by the Counsel for DCW, contended that the convict should be granted maximum punishment so that like-minded persons in society are deterred from committing such heinous and despicable offenses.
It has also been submitted that the convict has been convicted for the offense under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and the offense under Section 363/325/376(2)(j)/376AB IPC committed against the victim, who was only a five-year-old child. The convict has committed a grave offense of penetrative sexual assault upon the victim child “K” after kidnapping the victim child “K” when she went to attend nature’s call.
The convict caught hold of her and took her away, beating the victim child by way of fist blows, breaking two front teeth of the victim child, and also biting her left cheek. The scar of the bite mark is still visible on the face of the victim child, who appeared today with her father, APP further submitted.
She submitted that the convict deserves no sympathy for his abominable and reprehensible act. She requested that maximum compensation be awarded to the child victim as per the Delhi Victim Compensation Scheme, 2018.
It was further contended that the child victim has suffered a lot of humiliation due to such an act at the hands of the convict and is presently aged about 10 years.
The facts of the present case are that on October 29, 2019, the mother of the victim visited her house for the Bhai Dooj festival along with the victim and other family members. At about 6 p.m., they were having their meal when her daughter K told her that she had to go to the toilet.
The victim had gone to the toilet near the house, where the convict had caught hold of her and taken her away by lifting her. Thus, the convict kidnapped the victim child, “K,” a minor girl aged about 5 years, to commit penetrative sexual assault on her. The convict slapped her, bit her on her left cheek with his teeth, gave her fist blows to beat her, and caused her two front teeth to be broken. The court has awarded a compensation of Rs. 10.5 lakh to the victim.
(Aside from the headline, this story remains unaltered by the NewsX staff and has been shared directly from a syndicated source.)
