'OK Not To Be OK': Sikkim High Court Cites Demi Lovato Song, Urges State To Strengthen Children's Mental Health Measures After Teen's Suicide

Citing upbeat self-love anthem by singer Demi Lovato and Marshmello— "OK Not To Be Okay", the Sikkim High Court today implored the State government to strengthen its measures for improvement of mental health of children.The "deep sense of worry" was expressed after the division bench of Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan read the suicide note of a 16-year-old girl, who was raped.The bench stated;"Although, we are aware that the State is conducting various programs for assuring that the mental health of our citizens are well taken care of, if there is any possibility to do more, the State must not hesitate to take proactive steps at all levels to ensure that the mental health of every child is protected. We draw the attention of the State to the mental health conditions of our children both in the rural as well as in the urban areas. We implore it to take not only substantive measures but have a structured plan keeping in mind that the healthy mind of a child is paramount for the growth of our State and our Country at large. There must be a process of scientific evaluation of the working of these schemes on a periodic basis. We say no further". A 16-year-old girl returned from school, went into her room but was found hanging by her school sweater tied with the beam of the ceiling, on August 20, 2021. She left a suicide note, alleging that the appellant had raped her. Thereafter, an FIR was registered and a Special Judge convicted the appellant for assault or use of criminal force against a woman with the intention to outrage her modesty (Section 354), wrongful restraint (Section 341), and rape (Section 376), abetting her suicide (Section 306) of IPC and under Section 4 of the POCSO Act. The appellant, thus, approached the court challenging the conviction. The counsel for the appellant claimed that the conviction was based on a faulty investigation and a contradictory deposition of witnesses. The counsel further contended that neither the age of the victim nor the contents of the suicide note were proved. It was argued that the forensic expert had failed to establish that the suicide note was written by the victim. The Additional Public Prosecutor, for the State, submitted that the conviction and judgment were sound and based on evidence. The bench concurred with the Trial Court judgment that the actions of the appellant compelled the girl to commit suicide. The court held, "As correctly appreciated by the learned Special Judge, the acts of the appellant including the sexual assault upon the victim was found to be so despicable, humiliating, deplorable and intolerable, that she felt a deep sense of defilement and was unable to face anyone driving her to commit suicide by hanging. The language and the tenor of the suicide note does give an impression that the act of the appellant was beyond just sexual assault". The court noted that the appellant's guilt has been fully proven. The bench noted that a "solid, unbroken chain of events" has been established. However, the bench deemed it proper to examine the conviction for sexual harassment (Section 354 IPC) with Section 8 POCSO Act in light of Section 42 POCSO Act and Section 71 IPC. Therefore, the court set aside the sentence under Section 354A(2) of the IPC. The court thus partly allowed the appeal and modified the order on sentence. However, before concluding the matter, the court decided to highlight another important issue regarding the effectiveness of the rehabilitation scheme in the State Central Prison at Rongyek. The court noted that the appellant was previously convicted of house-trespassing under Section 458 of the IPC in 2011, for which he served 25 months. The court noted, "However, we notice that he has gone and committed another crime again and more heinous than the previous one". Case Title: Chewang Sherpa v State of Sikkim, CRL. A. No. 19 of 2023For Appellant: Advocate Thupden YoungdaFor State: Additional Public Prosecutor S.K. Chettri with Assistant Public Prosecutor Sujan Sunwar Click here to read/download the Order

'OK Not To Be OK': Sikkim High Court Cites Demi Lovato Song, Urges State To Strengthen Children's Mental Health Measures After Teen's Suicide

Jayanti Pahwa

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'OK Not To Be OK': Sikkim High Court Cites Demi Lovato Song, Urges State To Strengthen Children's Mental Health Measures After Teen's Suicide

Jayanti Pahwa

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Jayanti Pahwa

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