Delhi court sentences man to 12-year jail in minor’s sexual assault case

New Delhi: A court here has sentenced a man to 12 years of imprisonment for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl in 2020.

It also awarded Rs 7.5 lakh as compensation to the victim, saying the purpose of the criminal justice system is not only to attain catharsis by handing down proportional punishment but also to rehabilitate the victim.

Additional Sessions Judge Preeti Parewa was hearing a case against the man who was earlier convicted under the penal provision for kidnapping and under section 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Additional Public Prosecutor Vinnet Dahiya said the convict had committed a heinous offence and deserved severe punishment.

"In the present case, the convict has kidnapped the minor victim and caused aggravated sexual assault by touching her genital area," the court said in its recent verdict.

"Keeping in view the entire facts and circumstances of the present case, particularly the tender age of the victim child; the nature of the crime committed; the consequences of crime upon the mental and physical state of the victim child and the socio-economic background of the convict, the convict is directed to be sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for six years for the offence punishable under Section 10 of POCSO Act," it added.

The court also sentenced him to six years imprisonment for the offence of kidnapping.

Underlining the need for adequate compensation, it observed, "The purpose of the criminal justice system is not only to attain catharsis by handing down proportional punishment to the offender but also to rehabilitate the victim, who is scarred physically and mentally, forever." "If we fail to do so, we are also abdicating our duties towards the victim, whose psychological well-being has been dented," the court said and awarded Rs 7.5 lakh compensation to the victim.