The high court held the trial court had "grossly erred" in noting that the conviction under Section 10 of the Pocso Act entails a maximum punishment of imprisonment for five years with a fine whereas it actually entails a "minimum punishment of imprisonment for five years" with fine and a "maximum punishment of imprisonment for seven years" with fine. (File)The Delhi High Court recently sentenced a man to five years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl in 2015, seven years after he was released on probation by a trial court.
A division bench of Justice Mukta Gupta and Justice Anish Dayal was hearing an appeal moved by the state of Delhi against the sentencing order of the trial court. The trial court after the conviction of the man for offences punishable under Section 363 (Punishment for kidnapping) Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 10 (Punishment for aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, released him based on the period already undergone in custody. The said period was nine months and 26 days on February 11, 2015, the day he was released.
The high court in its judgment dated October 13 held the trial court had “grossly erred” in noting that the conviction under Section 10 of the Pocso Act entails a maximum punishment of imprisonment for five years with a fine whereas it actually entails a “minimum punishment of imprisonment for five years” with fine and a “maximum punishment of imprisonment for seven years” with fine. It had referred to Section 10 of the Pocso Act which states, “Whoever, commits aggravated sexual assault shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine”.
The trial court in its sentencing order dated February 10, 2015, observed it was the man’s first offence and that he is “stated to be having the responsibility of his family”. It also stated that he deserves to be given a “chance for reformation by taking a lenient view”.
In arriving at its decision, the Delhi High Court went through the deposition of the girl who was four years old at the time of the alleged incident “which was duly proved and not disputed by the defence”. The girl in her cross-examination detailed the manner in which the man took her to another person’s house while she was returning home from tuition and assaulted her private parts. She had also identified the man during the cross-examination in front of the trial court.
The HC observed that “even in the cross-examination of this child victim, nothing has been elucidated to show that the respondent did not commit the offence punishable under Section 10 of the POCSO Act”. Allowing the state’s appeal, the HC modified the man’s sentence from the period already undergone to a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for a period of five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 25,000.
The Delhi High Court, thereafter, directed the police officials present in the court to hand over the man’s custody to the Superintendent, Central Jail, Tihar, to serve the remaining sentence.