Delhi High Court upheld the 20-year sentence of a stepfather convicted of raping his stepdaughter in a POCSO case. symbolic picture
PTI, New Delhi. The Delhi High Court has upheld the 20-year imprisonment awarded by a trial court to a stepfather for raping his minor stepdaughter. The court clearly said that under the POCSO Act, the accused cannot be acquitted just because the victim retracted her statement during the trial, especially when scientific and medical evidence is available.
The bench of Justice Amit Mahajan, while rejecting the appeal of the accused, said that the subsequent change of statement of the child victims is often due to family pressure, financial dependence and fear of breaking the house. The Court emphasized that in such cases the child cannot be put to the burden of protecting the criminal.
The case is of March 2016, when the victim was less than 12 years old. She had alleged that her stepfather sexually assaulted her while she was sleeping at midnight. The victim told this to her mother, after which a complaint was lodged with the police and her statement was recorded under section 164 of CRPC.
However, during the trial the victim, her mother and sister changed their statements and did not support the prosecution. The accused argued that the only eyewitness to the incident (the victim) did not support the case, hence he should be acquitted.
Rejecting this argument, the Court said, "A child who is faced with the conviction of a person who provides him shelter and economic stability undoubtedly faces a serious conflict. The child's survival instincts, fear of being isolated from society and the desire to save the family may compel the victim to retreat from the truth."
Justice Mahajan further said that in this case also the changed attitude of the victim can be ascertained only from her statement under section 164. Citing scientific evidence, the court said that in the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, the DNA found from the undergarment of the victim matches that of the accused. In such a situation, the presumption of guilt under Section 29 and 30 of the POCSO Act cannot be taken lightly.
The Court also noted that the legislature has mandated the Special Juvenile Police Unit or the local police under the POCSO Act to send children who are victims of such crimes to shelter homes and make immediate arrangements, so that the children do not come under pressure.
This decision is important in the context of increasing incidents of victims turning hostile in POCSO cases. The Court made it clear that the subsequent treatment of a child victim cannot be viewed in isolation, especially when the scientific evidence is strong. This judgment strengthens the judicial approach in cases of sexual abuse of children, where family pressure often stands in the way of justice.