'Sexual Assault On Minors Can Cause Lasting Trauma, Profoundly Affecting Adolescent Years': Bombay HC

Mumbai: Sexual assault on minors can lead to trauma which profoundly affects their adolescent years, leaving them with lasting and irreparable psychological scars, the Bombay High Court observed while rejecting refusing to suspend sentence of a man convicted for raping a six-year-old in 2016.

The HC was hearing a plea by the 33-year-old labourer who sought bail and suspension of his 10-year prison sentence from 2019, pending appeal. The man was convicted for sexually assaulting his young relative who lived nearby.

According to the prosecution, in 2016, the victim was returning from a temple when the man took her to his residence, locked the door, and assaulted her. Additional Public Prosecutor Arfan Sait stressed the “gravity and sensitivity of the offence” and the aggravated “breach of trust” due to the familial relationship.

The bench noted the “consistent” testimony of the victim, which “lending credibility to her version of events”. The court observed: “In her deposition before the Court, the victim gave a coherent and consistent account of the traumatic events she endured. Her deposition remained unshaken during cross examination, and it reflected both the trauma she endured and the clarity with which she recalled the sequence of events.”

The incident came to light when the victim's mother, worried about her missing daughter, went to the man’s house. He deliberately misled her, denying that the victim was present inside. However, the victim heard her mother and emerged from the room.

“The key allegations align with the medical evidence. The prosecution has brought forth serious and substantial material that directly implicates the applicant in the commission of the alleged offence,” said Justice Laddha.

The bench, while rejecting his plea, concluded that the evidence on record, particularly the consistent testimony of the minor victim and the corroborating medical findings, does not justify the suspension of the sentence and the applicant’s release on bail.