'She Was In School Uniform': Madras High Court Confirms Conviction Under POCSO Act, Commutes Life Sentence Of Three

Madras High Court has commuted the life sentence of three accused including a pastor involved in the acts of kidnapping, marrying and sexually assaulting a Class X Student.Justices P.N Prakash and A. A Nakkiran observed that the conviction of the appellant-accused stand confirmed along with other substantive sentences though the life sentences under POCSO Act can be reduced to a fixed term for each of the accused.The accused in the case were Vijayakumar (A-1) who married the minor by tying a 'thaali' around her neck after kidnapping her, Pastor Muniyandi (A-2) who solemnized the sham marriage, and Joseph Raja (A-3) who was the accomplice of A1.During the appeal, the court took note of a particular submission by A2 and A3 that they were unaware of the age of the victim and genuinely believed her to be over 18 years. A2 and A3 submitted that Vijayakumar (A-1) made them believe that she was over 18 years old and the victim herself remained silent when Vijayakumar told both A2 and A3 that she was 18 years old.The court, however, observed that though the argument appears to be 'a little convincing' at the first blush, the cross-examination of the victim has revealed that she was in a school uniform when taken to the houses of Joseph Raja in Sulur and Pastor Muniyandi in Gudalur."....in the cross-examination of "X" (P.W.2), she has clearly stated that she was in school uniform, when she was being taken to the house of Pastor Muniyandi @ Ramesh (A-2) and Joseph Raja (A-3). Therefore, Pastor Muniyandi @ Ramesh (A-2) and Joseph Raja (A-3), who were around 39 and 35 years, respectively, at the time of the incident (as could be seen from their statements under Section 313 Cr.P.C.), cannot be heard to say that they believed "X" (P.W.2) was not a minor."The court also added that the first reaction of the second and third accused upon seeing a girl in school uniform should have been to inform her parents as responsible citizens. Instead, they chose to entertain the request of Vijayakumar to provide accommodation and perform a 'secretive marriage' in the house of Pastor Muniyandi.Life imprisonment imposed on Vijayakumar under Section 6 of the POCSO Act [Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault] was reduced to 14 years rigorous imprisonment, without any remission benefits. Life imprisonment imposed on Pastor Muniyandi and Joseph Raja under Section 6 R/w Section 17 of the POCSO Act was reduced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. The court also made it clear that the sentences imposed under IPC and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, along with the sentence of fine and the default clause imposed by the trial Court on all the appellants will remain unaltered. BackgroundThe case of the prosecution was that the victim was studying in Class X and residing with her grandmother in Ukkaram as the guardian at the time of the incident. Vijayakumar, the prime accused, used to visit his sister, who was a neighbour of the victim, frequently. According to the Prosecution, the prime accused gained sympathy in the mind of the victim by professing his love for her and by revealing that he has been deserted by his wife and two children. He told the minor that he would like her to become his wife and both of the eloped on a motorcycle after school on 23.08.2016 in front of the grandmother who came to fetch her grandchild.Afterwards, Vijayakumar took her first to Joseph Raja's house at Sulur. Joesph Raja accompanied both of them to Pastor Muniyandi's house. After the marriage, they came back to Sulur and rented out a portion of Joseph Raja's house. According to the victim's statement, they had coitus ever since the kidnapping and they were living as husband and wife. Both Vijayakumar and the minor girl were intercepted by the police at a check post in October 2016. After enquiries, it was known that the victim girl is the same person who was alleged to have been kidnapped by Vijayakumar in the written complaint of the minor girl's grandmother. Vijayakumar was arrested and the investigating officer filed an alteration report by including the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C. of "X" was recorded by Judicial Magistrate No.I at Gobichettipalayam. The medical examination of the victim confirmed that she has been subjected to coitus though the vaginal swabs did not indicate the presence of semen.The age determination test also showed that the age of the victim was above 14 years and below 15 years. Muniyandi and Joseph Raja were arrested and remanded in 2017.Pastor Muniyandi, Joseph Raja and Vijayakumar were booked for offences under Section 366 of IPC, Sections 9 and 10 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and Sections 6 and 17 of the POCSO Act.Aggrieved by the sentence imposed by the trial court deeming each of them guilty of all the offences in the charge sheet, they approached the High Court.Court's ObservationsThough there was a minor...

'She Was In School Uniform': Madras High Court Confirms Conviction Under POCSO Act, Commutes Life Sentence Of Three

Sebin James

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