Mumbai court relies on testimony of minor boy with mental disability, convicts 26-year-old man for sexual assault

A special court in Mumbai found the accused, who lived in the same neighbourhood as the victim, guilty under the Pocso Act and also directed him to pay a fine of Rs 10,000.

The court on Wednesday found the man, who lived in the same neighbourhood as the victim, guilty under the charges of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, and also directed him to pay a fine of Rs 10,000. (Representational Image)

A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for sexual assault based on the testimony of the 17-year-old victim, whose psychological test revealed he had the mental age of over five years due to intellectual disability. The special court in Mumbai ruled that the boy was vulnerable due to his disability and that the accused does not deserve any leniency in punishment.

“The predecessor of this court, taking note of vulnerable state of victim, as indeed his demeanor at the time of deposition, has observed that his competency to appear as a witness cannot be questioned notwithstanding the fact that he suffers from moderate intellectual disability for the reason he was able to comprehend the questions which were put to him and was able to give rational answers thereto, the possibility of he having been tutored being rule out,” Special Judge P N Rao, said in the order, which was made public on Friday.

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According to submissions made by Special Public Prosecutor Geeta Sharma, the case had come to light in 2022, when the victim’s mother returned home and found that the boy, her youngest son who went to a special school, had put his clothes into the washing machine. When asked why, he told her that they had become muddied. Later, when her elder son came home from work, the mother told him that she suspected that the victim had gone out of the house. When they asked him about it, he informed them about the assault by the then 24-year-old neighbour. Based on this, the police were informed and the accused arrested.

The court relied on other evidence including witnesses and medical evidence to hold the accused guilty.

“Considering such circumstance, the nature of offence is certainly aggravated whereby the accused would not deserve any leniency,” the court said. The man has been behind bars since 2022.