Marriage after rape not reason to exonerate Pocso offender: Court

A 21-year-old man raped a 17-year-old girl in 2018 and he landed in jail.
Image used for representational purpose only. (File Photo)
Image used for representational purpose only. (File Photo)

KOCHI: A 21-year-old man raped a 17-year-old girl in 2018 and he landed in jail. But there was a twist with him marrying the survivor after he was released on bail in 2019 and when she had turned major. A child was also born in wedlock to the couple in 2021. During the trial, the survivor and her mother turned hostile but that did not save the accused from the clutches of law. The Pocso Special Court in Kochi recently sentenced him to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

While pronouncing the verdict, Additional District and Sessions Judge K Soman observed, “That the accused married the victim after committing the offence cannot be treated as a reason to exonerate him from the offence.” The court convicted him under the the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. The court noted that the accused is now 25. Moreover, he is the husband of the victim and a child has been born to them.

The counsel for the accused argued that his client and the victim are now leading a peaceful life and prayed for maximum leniency in the sentence, but the court rejected the plea. The court observed that the prosecution has established the foundational facts constituting the offence of sexual assault by the accused on the child resulting in her pregnancy which was aborted subsequently. “This is a peculiar case wherein the victim girl and her mother refused to support the prosecution whereas the prosecution proceeded with the case to find out the culprit by scientific and other evidence,” the judge said. The court convicted him taking into account that the DNA test had proved the accused was the biological father of the aborted foetus.

The court also cited the Supreme Court ruling which stated that the result of a genuine DNA test is scientifically accurate and when there is a conflict between conclusive proof envisaged under the law and proof based on scientific advancement accepted by the world community to be correct, the latter must prevail over the former. The Kerala High Court had also observed that DNA testing is the most authentic and scientifically proved means to establish paternity. Special public prosecutor P A Bindu and advocate Sarun Mangara appeared for the prosecution.

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