Delhi: 7 years after release on probation in Pocso case, man sent to jail again

NEW DELHI: Reversing a trial court decision, Delhi High Court has sent behind bars a man who was convicted for sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl but was released on probation by a trial court in 2015.
The high court said the trial court “grossly erred” in releasing the convict on a period undergone by him in jail till his conviction in the case, which was nine months and 26 days.
The high court’s verdict came while allowing an appeal filed by the state challenging the trial court’s February 2015 judgement releasing the convict on probation.
The trial court, while taking a lenient view and giving the benefit of probation to the man, had noted that it was his first offence under the provision of Pocso Act. A bench of justices Mukta Gupta and Anish Dayal, however, pointed out that Section 10 (punishment for aggravated sexual assault) of the Pocso Act entails a minimum punishment of five years jail and a maximum sentence of seven years.
The high court examined the testimony of the child who gave details of the incident and also identified the accused. “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,” it observed.
The court asked the police to hand over the custody of the convict to Tihar Jail superintendent for serving his remaining sentence.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)