Booked for sexual assault of daughter: Wife says ‘difficult to maintain family’, Mumbai court grants minimum sentence for man

“The victim in the present case is the daughter of the accused. The informant is the wife of the accused. Both, victim and informant are desirous that the accused should be released from jail at the earliest, as they found it difficult to maintain the family. Considering the facts and circumstances, it would be just to sentence the accused to suffer minimum punishment prescribed by the Act for the respective offences,” special judge T T Aglawe said in an order passed on Monday.

The man was found guilty under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The victim’s mother had told court that she has been taking care of her three daughters by herself from 2018 when her husband was arrested and she feels that he should be set free at the earliest.

The offence had come to light in 2018 when a visit to the doctor revealed the victim was pregnant.

The doctor informed the police as reporting of offence is mandatory under the POCSO Act. The victim then told the police that she was sexually assaulted by her father and an offence was registered against him. While the pregnancy was terminated, the police relied on the DNA report to show that the accused was the father. He has been behind bars since 2018.

During the trial, the victim said that she did not remember about the incident, while she did admit that she was taken to the hospital and she was found to be pregnant. She also accepted that a medical examination was done and the police had arrested her father.

The victim’s mother also turned hostile stating that her daughter had not told her who had sexually assaulted her. The court relied on the testimony of the medical and forensic experts and the DNA report. It also considered what the victim had told the doctors at the time of her examination.

“…the accused has not adduced his evidence and he has not examined any witness as defence evidence. There is no explanation put  forth on behalf of the accused to discard the DNA report,” the court said.