Delhi High Court Directs DLSA To Hand Over Trial Court's 'Encouraging' Message To POCSO Survivor With Compensation
The Delhi High Court has directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to print and hand over to a 10-year-old POCSO survivor a message penned by the trial court judge who had convicted the accused, along with the compensation awarded to her family.A division bench comprising Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Dinesh Bhatt directed the Secretary, DLSA, to comply with the...
The Delhi High Court has directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to print and hand over to a 10-year-old POCSO survivor a message penned by the trial court judge who had convicted the accused, along with the compensation awarded to her family.
A division bench comprising Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Dinesh Bhatt directed the Secretary, DLSA, to comply with the direction within two weeks.
The direction was passed while hearing an appeal filed by one Sumit Shakya against his conviction and sentence in a POCSO case registered at Budh Vihar Police Station.
The trial court had convicted him for aggravated penetrative sexual assault upon the survivor, who was below 12 years of age, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He was also convicted for the offence of criminal intimidation.
The trial court had sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for life. It had also awarded Ra. 10.50 lakh as compensation to the child survivor after considering the nature of the crime, the depth of suffering and the lifelong impact on the child.
In appeal, the Bench noted that the incident dated back to July 23, 2023, when the survivor was stated to be seven years old, and that she was now 10 years old.
The trial court judge, Additional Sessions Judge Rajani Ranga, had appended a post-script addressed directly to the survivor. The message acknowledged the child's plea that the accused should remain in jail until he grew old and sought to encourage her to move forward with her life.
“This Court cannot give you back your childhood. But Court can promise you that your words have been heard. Your plea has been granted. The man who hurt you will never see the sun as a free man again. Now, beta, live your life. Go to school Make friends. Laugh. Play Dream. This Court will always remember your courage,” the trial court judge had written.
On this, the High Court directed that the message be printed and handed over to the survivor or her family members along with the compensation.
The Court also issued notice in the criminal appeal and directed that notice be served upon the prosecutrix through the Investigating Officer.
It also sought a status report from the Secretary, DLSA, regarding the compensation awarded to the victim's family.
At the same time, the Court declined to suspend the sentence of the convict at this stage, considering the evidence including the forensic evidence.
The matter will next be considered on November 04, 2026 for the status report to be filed by DLSA. The appeal is listed on January 20, 2027.
Title: SUMIT SHAKYA v. STATEOFNCT OF DELHI & ANR