A court here has sentenced a 32-year-old man to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment under the POCSO Act for aggravated penetrative sexual assault of a minor.
The court observed that the convict, who with a “perverse mind” engaged in sexual offences against children, did not deserve leniency.
Additional Sessions Judge Susheel Bala Dagar was hearing a case against M Narshima (name as spelt in court records), who the Delhi Police have charge-sheeted under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the POCSO Act.
According to the prosecution, Narshima committed the offence of penetrative sexual assault on the 16-year-old girl on July 9, 2016, and on many unknown prior dates, besides threatening to kill the victim and her family members.
“The convict who is found to be having perverse mind, indulging in sexual offences with children does not deserve any leniency,” ASJ Dagar said in a judgment dated October 4.
“Taking into consideration the aggravating and mitigating circumstances including the gravity of the offence, age of the child victim and the convict, the family condition of the convict and the child victim, and social and economic factors governing them, the convict is sentenced to 12 years rigorous imprisonment for the offence punishable under Section 6 of the POCSO Act,” the judge said.
Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act deals with punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault.
The court also sentenced the man to five years of rigorous imprisonment for the offence under IPC section 506 (criminal intimidation). The court, however, said both the sentences will run concurrently.
Also Read
It trashed the convict’s plea that he was suffering from mental ailments, saying he was “feigning mental illness”. Noting Narshima’s medical report, the court said, “The convict is found to be legally as well as medically sane and fit to stand trial.”
The court observed it is society’s responsibility to take care of its children and to protect them from physiological and psychological exploitation by sexual abusers.
“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. The sexual offence may be an isolated act for the convict, however, the said act deeply impacts the life of an innocent child,” the court said.
Hence, the penalty awarded to the convict should be commensurate with the gravity of the “loathsome act” so that it serves as an effective deterrent, it said.
