No Father Would Sexually Assault His Daughter And No Daughter Would Level Such Allegations Against Her Father But Mistakes Can Occur: Bombay HC

While acquitting a 43-year-old man convicted for raping his own minor daughter, the Bombay High Court observed that in ordinary circumstances, a daughter will not level such allegation against her father and even the father will not rape his own daughter. Sitting at theNagpur bench, Justice Govind Sanap considered the 'human psychology' in which 'mistakes can occur.' In his December 5, 2024 judgment, which was made available on Wednesday (January 22), Justice Sanap observed, "It is true that in ordinary circumstances, a daughter would not level such an allegation against her own father. Similarly, in the ordinary circumstances, the father would also not sexually assault his own daughter. However, considering human psychology and tendency, mistakes can occur, even in the case of the father, who is ordinary saviour of the children."The bench was seized with an appeal filed by the man, who challenged the judgment of a special court pronounced on February 23, 2021, by which he was convicted for raping his minor daughter under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the stringent Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He was sentenced to 10 years jail term along with a fine of Rs 5,000.As per the victim girl's testimony, her mother left them and the father, who was an alcoholic, started abusing her since she was in Class 3 and continued till she attained 14 years of age and disclosed about the same to her maternal grandmother. However, the bench noted that the incident was reported after seven years of the appellant's wife leaving him. It noted that the appellant looked after the victim, her younger brother and his own old mother and even cooked food for the children all these years."It is not a case of the victim that she was not close to her paternal grandmother. The victim girl did not disclose any incident to her paternal grandmother and her younger brother. The appellant looked after the well-being of the victim and her younger brother. He did not perform the marriage even after desertion by his first wife. As compared to a paternal grandmother who was residing with the victim, the maternal grandmother, was more trusted by the victim girl," the judge noted. The judge further said that except the "bare words" of the victim, there is no other evidence against the appellant, who is her father and who had shouldered the responsibility of maintaining the family and well-being of his children in all respects. "Even if it is assumed that the father was addicted to liquor, it would not weigh in favour of the prosecution. The victim has nowhere stated that the appellant did not look after their well-being and maintain them. He looked after the victim in the absence of her mother, would not have committed such an act with her. When the wife of the appellant left him, he was hardly 25 years of age. On the date of lodging the report, he was 35 years of age. He single-handedly looked after the well-being of the children and his old aged mother. He was the only earning member of the family and must have toiled hard to earn and sustain the family. This is another vital circumstance," Justice Sanap noted.Further, from the evidence on record, the judge noted that the girl had implicated her father in a false case because he was opposing her marriage with a boy of her own choice. It further noted that after lodging the instant case, the victim married the boy, with whom she had intimacy."The appellant, being a caring father, did not accept the proposal of marriage of the boy with his daughter. In my view, it seems to be the cause for the prosecution against the appellant. It shows that the victim and the boy had intimacy. In my view, the strong opposition to the marriage by the appellant, seems to be the cause of his misery. It seems that his approach was proper. He was not wrong when he suggested that the boy was not the proper match for the victim. The appellant being guardian of the victim, was the proper person to find a suitable match for his daughter. The victim-daughter had another ideas and plans in her mind," the judge underlined, while acquitting the man.Appearance: Advocate AD Tote was appointed for the Appellant.Additional Public Prosecutor Soniya Thakur represented the State. Case Title: RD vs State of Maharashtra (Criminal Appeal 882 of 2022)Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Bom) 28Click Here To Read/Download Judgment

No Father Would Sexually Assault His Daughter And No Daughter Would Level Such Allegations Against Her Father But Mistakes Can Occur: Bombay HC

Narsi Benwal

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