Pocso verdict: Man sentenced to life imprisonment for raping minor girl | News from Delhi

New Delhi: A Delhi court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for the abduction and rape of a five-year-old girl in 2019, saying the punishment must be commensurate with the gravity of the crime so that it acts as an effective deterrent. Court of Additional Sessions (POCSO) judge Susheel Bala Dagar on July 11 awarded the child Rs 105,000 compensation and sentenced the man to seven years of imprisonment for abduction and grievous bodily harm. The sentences will be served concurrently with the life sentence he will serve for rape, the court said. “The plight of the child and the shock she and her family members have undergone can be well imagined. The agony of the child can destroy the composure and self-control of any civilised person. The statement that the child is a gift to society seems absurd because of persons like the convict. The victim child had to endure such torture at the hands of the convict through no fault of hers,” the court said. The court was hearing the case against the 28-year-old man, who was convicted under Section 6 (aggravated sexual abuse by penetration) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and for kidnapping and rape among other offences. The child was attacked when she was visiting her maternal grandparents for a festival. The court said she should have spent her time in merriment but the convict treated her with animalistic passion. Additional public prosecutor Yogita Kaushik urged the court to impose the maximum possible punishment under the law. She argued that the convict did not deserve any pity for his heinous and reprehensible act as he kidnapped the child, bit her cheeks and beat her with his fists, breaking her teeth in the process. The court expressed dismay over the increasing number of such crimes against children and observed that the dignity and purity of the child’s body is destroyed. The court said the sexual offence may be an isolated incident for the convicted person but it has a profound impact on the life of an innocent child and therefore the punishment imposed on the convicted person must be commensurate with the gravity of the crime. “It is the duty of the courts, the police and the general public to provide adequate legal protection to every child. In a patriarchal society like our country, everyone is quick to blame the victim for such penetrative sexual assault. A child who is subjected to sexual abuse needs to be protected even more so that he or she is not mentally abused by anyone,” the court said.