© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Madras High Court POCSO verdict: The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a man’s appeal and upheld the life imprisonment awarded by the trial court for sexually assaulting his two minor daughters, emphasising that the father’s paramount duty is to ensure the safety and emotional well-being of his children.
A bench consisting of Justices N Sathish Kumar and M Jothiraman, while dismissing the appeal, observed, “In our culture, father occupies a revered place next to mother and higher than teacher and the divine, as expressed in the traditional saying ‘Matha (mother), Pitha (father), Guru (Teacher), Deivam (God)’.”
Calling it a ‘peculiar’ case, the court pointed to the father’s role as ‘protector and guardian’ of children, which in this instance turned out to be the very source of their ‘suffering’.
“When such a sacred responsibility is let down, it strikes at the very foundation of the family and Society,” the bench added.
Upholding the life imprisonment, the court held that no reduction or modification of the sentence was warranted, observing, “The punishment imposed is commensurate with the gravity of the offence and the moral depravity it embodies.”
The high court also remarked that the accused allowed his inebriated state to overpower his human instincts and parental duty, instead of nurturing and protecting his daughters.
The additional public prosecutor, appearing on behalf of the state, argued that the accused was addicted to alcohol, which led to his second wife leaving home in November 2015.
Noting the destructive impact of alcohol, the high court said that it not only ruins an individual’s ‘health and character’ but also devastates the ‘peace and sanctity of an entire family’.
In this case, the accused had four children from his second wife and was charged with committing sexual offences with two of his minor daughters. The two daughters were living with him after his second wife left him in 2015 due to his drinking and violent behaviour.
The trial court found the accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted him with life imprisonment and Rs 5,000 fine, with six months’ simple imprisonment in default, for the offence under Section 4 of the POCSO Act, and 7 years imprisonment and Rs 5,000 fine, with six months’ simple imprisonment in default, for the offence under Section 10 of the POCSO Act.
Sections 4 and 10 of the POCSO Act deal with the punishment for sexual assault with minors.
