Patna High Court orders the release of an elderly man who spent 10 years in prison for a POCSO case, stating that the trial court used the wrong law. The court also increased the compensation for the victim.
The Patna High Court has ordered the release of an elderly man, sentencing him only for the time he has already spent in jail and increasing the compensation for the victim. This decision came after the Court reviewed an appeal against the conviction and sentence given by the Trial Court, which had found the man guilty under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 5 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act). A Division Bench, including Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Jitendra Kumar, noted that the Trial Court incorrectly applied the law by sentencing the man under Section 6 of the POCSO Act to life imprisonment. They pointed out that the crime occurred in 2014, before the harsher penalties in Section 6 were established. The judges concluded that the case should fall under Section 4 of the POCSO Act instead, as the victim was over 12 years old, meaning the act did not qualify as aggravated penetrative sexual assault as defined in Section 5 of the POCSO Act.
Advocate Md. Ataul Haque represented the Appellant, while APP Abhimanyu Sharma represented the Respondent. According to the prosecution, in 2014, the informant reported to the police that his 10-year-old niece was taken by the Appellant, a relative, to Banaras under the pretense of helping his daughter, who was pregnant. It was claimed that in Banaras, the Appellant raped the niece after giving her a drug. When she returned home, she informed her uncle about the incident. This led to the filing of an FIR and the framing of charges. The Trial Court found the Appellant guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs. 50,000. The victim was awarded Rs. 4 lakhs for her rehabilitation. The Appellant then appealed to the High Court.
In its ruling, the High Court stated that there was no merit in the defense’s claim that the Appellant was falsely accused due to his refusal to marry his son to the victim. The Court noted strong evidence showing that the Appellant took the victim to Banaras and stayed with her in a lodge for two days, which supported the victim’s testimony. The prosecution successfully established the key facts of the case, and the presumption under Sections 29 and 30 of the POCSO Act was applied against the Appellant. The Appellant failed to counter this presumption despite presenting evidence in his defense. The Court concluded that the Appellant was guilty of committing penetrative sexual assault against the victim.
The Court also pointed out that the sexual assault against the victim falls under Section 376(1) of the IPC, which carries the same punishment as Section 4 of the POCSO Act before its 2019 amendment. “Considering all the facts and circumstances, especially the appellant’s old age, a 10-year prison term would serve justice, especially since the appellant has already been in custody for over 10 years since May 20, 2014. Therefore, he is sentenced to the time already served,” the Court stated. As a result, the High Court partially granted the Appeal, ordered the Appellant’s release, and increased the victim’s compensation by Rs. 1 lakh.
Cause Title: Md. Mahmood Alam v. The State of Bihar
