MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court upheld the 10 years rigorous imprisonment awarded to a man for sexually assaulting a 11-year-old girl in 2013.
Justice B Pugalendhi passed the order on a criminal appeal filed by the man, one Sathish, challenging the said punishment awarded by a Fast Track Mahila Court at Thoothukudi in 2015.
The facts of the case were that on December 1, 2013, Sathish lured the victim girl to a noon meal centre pretending to show her a movie on his mobile phone and then sexually assaulted her. Upon hearing the cries of the victim, the villagers rushed in and saved her.
Based on her parents' complaint two days after the incident, Sathish was arrested and was later found guilty. However, citing the two days delay in lodging the complaint, he challenged the lower court's verdict.
Justice Pugalendhi noted from the statements of the victim's parents that the victim was crying in pain and that they were busy taking her for medical treatment. Worried about her future, they did not lodge a police complaint until after two days.
The judge held that such a delay cannot be considered as a material defect in POCSO cases.