Man gets 10-year jail for raping 17-year-old girl
Vishwas Kothari | TNN | Updated: Apr 20, 2019, 06:55 IST
Representative imagePUNE: Special judge A N Sirsikar here has convicted and sentenced a 25-year-old man to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, for repeated sexual assault on a 17-year-old girl in Hadapsar between October 2015 and March 2016.
The court also sentenced the accused, Pravin Kantilal Chauhan, to three years in jail for sexual harassment. Both terms will run concurrently.
As per the case, on March 29, 2016, Chauhan barged into the girl’s house while she was alone and assaulted her for not responding to his calls. The girl raised an alarm, forcing him to flee. Her family lodged an FIR against Chauhan for trespass and assault. The following day, the girl was taken to a hospital after she complained of abdominal pain and it was then found that she was 23 weeks and four days pregnant. The doctor alerted the police. In her supplementary statement, the girl stated that Chauhan had previously sexually assaulted her three or four times.
In his defence, Chauhan had argued that it a physical relationship by consent, and that the girl was at least 18 years old on the day of the incident. The POCSO Act puts the onus of proving the victim’s status as a minor on the prosecution. Chauhan did not dispute the paternity of the child (also established by a DNA report) and argued that he was and is ready to marry the girl, but her parents demanded money that he could not pay and hence, was falsely implicated.
Judge Sirsikar held there was sufficient oral as well as documentary evidence to show that she was a minor. The court, however, referred to medical evidence, a spot panchanama of the house, and statements by the girl, her mother and sister, and said, “Considering the evidence produced on record, particularly the conduct of the victim girl, I think that she was consenting party to the sexual intercourse with the accused. However, in my opinion, considering the age of the victim girl and the definition of rape ... her consent has no relevance,” the court said.
The court also sentenced the accused, Pravin Kantilal Chauhan, to three years in jail for sexual harassment. Both terms will run concurrently.
As per the case, on March 29, 2016, Chauhan barged into the girl’s house while she was alone and assaulted her for not responding to his calls. The girl raised an alarm, forcing him to flee. Her family lodged an FIR against Chauhan for trespass and assault. The following day, the girl was taken to a hospital after she complained of abdominal pain and it was then found that she was 23 weeks and four days pregnant. The doctor alerted the police. In her supplementary statement, the girl stated that Chauhan had previously sexually assaulted her three or four times.
In his defence, Chauhan had argued that it a physical relationship by consent, and that the girl was at least 18 years old on the day of the incident. The POCSO Act puts the onus of proving the victim’s status as a minor on the prosecution. Chauhan did not dispute the paternity of the child (also established by a DNA report) and argued that he was and is ready to marry the girl, but her parents demanded money that he could not pay and hence, was falsely implicated.
Judge Sirsikar held there was sufficient oral as well as documentary evidence to show that she was a minor. The court, however, referred to medical evidence, a spot panchanama of the house, and statements by the girl, her mother and sister, and said, “Considering the evidence produced on record, particularly the conduct of the victim girl, I think that she was consenting party to the sexual intercourse with the accused. However, in my opinion, considering the age of the victim girl and the definition of rape ... her consent has no relevance,” the court said.
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