NAGPUR: Observing {that a} minor subjected to sexual assault could be “petrified” and “not behave usually and play”, Nagpur bench of Bombay HC acquitted a 64-year-old man, who was sentenced to twenty years of rigorous imprisonment beneath Pocso Act and Part 376AB of IPC for allegedly raping an eight-year-old lady in March 2019.
The person, Vijay Jawanjal, was a resident of Achalpur in Amravati district.”If such an act (rape) was perpetrated by the accused, it was an egregious act. Such an act would have undoubtedly horrified her. It could have inflicted immense ache and trauma on her. Beneath bizarre circumstances, she would have fled the spot to her home after such a deplorable act and recounted the incident to her mom,” Justice Govinda Sanap mentioned, whereas ordering the discharge of Jawanjal from jail.
As per prosecution, the survivor, a scholar of sophistication 3, had gone to play at a neighborhood temple close to their residence. Her mom, who’s the complainant, couldn’t discover her daughter. After a while, the complainant discovered her taking part in on the similar premises and dropped her off at college. After getting back from faculty, the lady appeared gloomy and uncomfortable. She revealed to her mom the following day that the accused had provided her a candy, forcibly touched her non-public elements, and he or she was in ache. The mom then lodged a criticism at Asegaon police station.
Quoting the mom’s testimony, Justice Sanap identified that when she went to search out her daughter, she discovered the accused was sitting close by, and the lady was taking part in. Clarifying that the court docket have to be vigilant and make sure the baby isn’t tutored in any method, the choose mentioned the survivor herself demolished the mom’s proof, stating she was tutored by her mom to call the accused.
“The lady has said her mom instructed her to inform the court docket that the accused had harassed her, else she could be punished. She said her mom instructed her the title of the accused. On that day, she suffered a sunstroke. She has said there was ache and itching in her non-public elements. She demolished the proof of her mom,” he mentioned.
Jawanjal had challenged the decision in HC after classes court docket awarded life sentence. He contended that his efficiency check was not carried out since he was 60 years outdated on the time and the medical reviews had been inconclusive.
