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'Mother Forced Her....': HC Acquits Man Accused Of Raping 8-Year-Old, Says Minor Not 'Petrified'
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court acquitted a 64-year-old man who was convicted of raping a minor girl, 8, citing that the minor's behaviour is "normal" as compared to the trauma children face in such cases. The court highlighted that the survivour had said that her mother asked her to name the accused, or else she would be punished.
Bombay HC acquits man accused of raping minor in Nagpur. (Representational Image)
Photo : iStock
Nagpur: The Bombay high court acquitted a 64-year-old man, who was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for allegedly raping an 8-year-old girl. He was sentenced under the POSCO Act and Section 376AB of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in March 2019. The HC, in its order, stated that a minor subjected o sexual assault would be "petrified" and "not behave normally and play."
The accused, Vijay Jawanjal was a resident of Achalpur in Amravati district. Justice Govinda Sanap, ordering the release of Jawanjal, said, "If such an act was perpetrated by the accused, it was an egregious act. Such an act would have undoubtedly horrified her. It would have inflicted immense pain and trauma on her. Under ordinary circumstances, she would have fled the spot to her house after such a deplorable act and recounted the incident to her mother." The court stated she should have been playing after such a horrific act. The class three student, had gone to play at a community temple at the time of the incident, stated the prosecution. Her mother, who was searching for her, found her playing at the temple and dropped her off at school. When the girl returned from school, as per the complaint, she appeared uncomfortable. The next day, the survivor told the mother that the accused offered her a sweet, and forcibly touched her private parts. She also complained of having pain.
Following this, the mother filed a complaint at Asegaon police station. Justice Sanap, quoting the mother's testimony highlighted that when she went to find her daughter, she also found the accused was sitting nearby, and the girl was playing. Noting that the court must be vigilant, ensuring that the child is not tutored in any manner, the judge stated that the survivour herself debunked the mother's claims and evidence, stating that her mother had asked her to name the accused. Justice Sanap said, "The girl said that her mother told her to tell the court that the accused had harassed her, otherwise she would be punished. She had said that her mother told her the name of the accused."
"On the day of the incident, she suffered through sunstroke. She complained of having pain and itching in her private parts. She demolished the evidence provided by her mother, " Justice Sanap further added.
After being sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment in the sessions court, Jawanjal challenged the verdict in the High Court. He had claimed that his potency test was not conducted since he was 60 years old at the time of the incident and the medical reports were inconclusive.
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