A special fast-track court holding the trial of offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Palwal on Wednesday sentenced the stepfather of a minor girl to life imprisonment for raping her.
The fast-track POCSO court headed by additional sessions judge (ASJ) Prashant Rana while holding the 30-year-old stepfather guilty of aggravated penetrative sexual assault under Section 6 of the POCSO Act said in his order that life imprisonment granted to the convict shall be without any remission and the convict shall undergo rigorous imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life, till his last breath.
Ordering grant of ₹10.5 lakh financial compensation for the victim, the ASJ said that the 11-year-old girl child was subjected to aggravated penetrative sexual assault and suffered untold pain, suffering and mental trauma.
The ASJ said that though extreme punishment of death penalty is not warranted in the present case, the convict at the same time does not deserve to be granted minimum punishment.
“The reason being the convict is the stepfather of the victim and he has violated the utmost sanctity of the pious relationship of father and daughter. The convict may not be the biological father of the victim, but he is her stepfather. The relationship between father and daughter would remain the same in essence, in moral obligations and in sanctity, be it the case of a biological father, an adoptive father or a stepfather. He was duty bound to protect her. However, the protector has turned predator in the present case,” the judge said.
{{/usCountry}}“The reason being the convict is the stepfather of the victim and he has violated the utmost sanctity of the pious relationship of father and daughter. The convict may not be the biological father of the victim, but he is her stepfather. The relationship between father and daughter would remain the same in essence, in moral obligations and in sanctity, be it the case of a biological father, an adoptive father or a stepfather. He was duty bound to protect her. However, the protector has turned predator in the present case,” the judge said.
{{/usCountry}}The judge said that a daughter looks upon her father as her highest ideal and refuge, to protect her from outside evils. When the same protector turns into predator on account of his sexual and mental perversions to the extent of blindness, the trauma suffered by the victim can neither be imagined nor it can be expressed.
The court said that the convict has caused a life-long trauma to the child victim and has shattered her faith. He has caused incurable injuries to her mind and soul and devastated her self-respect and dignity. It shocks the individual conscience, as well as the societal conscience, when the sanctity of the relationship between the father and daughter is violated in such a manner. The convict has committed a crime of highest culpability. The present crime may not be rarest of rare, but the same is of gravest nature and deserves extreme punishment.
The ASJ said that maximum penalty must be granted to a person committing child rape, if the sentencing is to achieve the deterrent effect on potential offenders, apart from just retribution to the offender.
“A daughter is the most prized possession for the family and brings spark of divine light and happiness to our households. In our society, fathers have a tradition of even staking their lives if required for the safety, dignity and honour of their daughters. If any offender tries to tarnish these traditional values of Indian society, the courts of law shall ensure that such offender is not allowed to roam free and shall be incarcerated to repent behind the prison walls for their entire lifetime,” the court said.