A special court in Mumbai sentenced a 37-year-old man to 25 years of imprisonment for raping his 13-year-old daughter after he was found guilty on charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Monday. While pronouncing the sentence, the court lauded the victim’s 60-year-old grandmother for her grit in “seeking justice at such an old age” for her granddaughter.
Special Judge Bharti Kale said that the accused caused immeasurable pain and trauma to his own daughter and also directed that the minor be compensated Rs 15,000 under the victim compensation scheme.
“A father lays a foundation of security, trust and love. A father makes his daughter’s life safe and protects her from getting hurt. But the victim’s father himself has caused immeasurable pain to her. Childhood trauma is bound to affect the victim. The court is confident that she will cope with the same with the help and guidance from various agencies established under the POCSO Act,” the court said.
The girl was repeatedly sexually assaulted by her father in 2020, but the incident only came to light in May 2021 after she narrated her ordeal to her grandmother, who then decided to seek justice for her granddaughter, The Times of India reported. The victim lived in a small room with her father, grandparents, uncle and two siblings.
The 60-year-old woman, who is the accused’s mother, reported the incident to the police and also deposed him in court.
The victim told the court that her father used to rape her in a corner of the room and threatened her with dire consequences.
In his defense, the accused claimed that the incident could not have occurred as they lived in a crowded locality and the victim could have raised her voice for help.
“Failure of the victim to raise shouts definitely does not in any way create doubt in her evidence as the person in authority and on whom the victim’s life was dependent, had performed such acts. The victim’s failure to raise shouts is mainly for the reason that there is fear in the mind of children that if a close relative commits such nature of acts then what will happen to their life if they resist as the uncertainty of the future loom large in their mind. Such kind of fear is real when the children are not protected in their own house and they are afraid of the world outside,” the court said.
Besides, the court also took notice of the senior citizen and said, “The grandmother needs to be commended for seeking justice even though she will be required to look after the children of the accused at such an old age.”
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