New Delhi: A 24-year-old man has been sent behind bars for 14 years for kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl, with a Delhi court observing he "ravished" a "helpless and naive" girl only to satisfy his lust.
The court, while awarding the sentence, also empathised with the victim and her family over delay in lodging FIR, saying "fear of society and social stigmatisation" often puts people in a dilemma as to what should be done.
"Convict was an adult at the time of commission of offence having a thinking mind. And, therefore, ravishing a helpless and naive 11 year-old victim only to satisfy his lust speaks volumes of his perversity. I am, therefore, of the view that keeping in mind the young age of the convict and the fact that he is not a previous offender, maximum punishment may not be awarded. But seeing the gravity of the offence and the tender age of the victim, he cannot be let go by awarding only the minimum punishment," Additional Sessions Judge Seema Maini said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on Ram Prakash and awarded the girl a compensation of Rs 3 lakh.
Expressing concern over sexual offences against children, the court said such crimes leave deep scars on the victim which cannot heal with medical aid.
"Sexual assault on a child leaves its deep-rooted scars on the entire persona of the victim. These scars do not heal up ever despite best medical aid. Below these scars get submerged all her past and future joyous moments, her natural smile and happy disposition, leaving the victim stuffed in her own self," the court observed.
It said the Constitution guarantees Right to Equality to all the citizens but it is unfortunate that the women who are the victim of sexual assault or rape are subjected to social stigmatisation and forced to make compromises in all spheres of life.
"The victim is often shunned by one and all, even close relatives and left to lead a life of isolation."
The court, which held the man guilty under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, also observed that the delay of one day in lodging of the FIR on the part of the victim and her family did not prove fatal to the case as there was a proper explanation to it.
"It needs to be kept in mind that an incident of sexual assault upon a young girl causes immense trauma not just to the victim but her entire family and fear of society and social stigmatisation often puts them under a dilemma as to what should be done. The delay in the instant case having been cogently explained by the family members of the victim is found to be believable and therefore the delay of more than one day in lodging the FIR does not prove fatal to the instant case," the court said.
While holding him guilty, it also considered the victim's medical report and her statement, besides the testimony of her sister and mother, saying they were "reliable" and "inspired confidence".
"All the three material witnesses come across to be very cogent and reliable witnesses and the sequence of events narrated by them consistently and unbroken chain of events inspire total confidence. The accused miserably failing to shatter their consistent testimony," the court said.
According to the prosecution, Prakash kidnapped the child when she was going towards her home on December 30, 2015 from a local market in north Delhi. He took her to his house and gagged her mouth before committing penetrative sexual assault on her, it said, adding she did not inform her family immediately after coming back home but narrated the incident as her sister inquired.
A police complaint was lodged on January 1, 2016 by her sister and the accused was arrested. During the trial, Prakash denied the allegations and claimed he was falsely implicated. He has been held guilty of offences under section 376 (2) (i) (rape on an under-16 year-old girl), 363 (kidnapping) and section 6 (penetrative sexual assault) of POCSO Act.
