Court declines to suspend life sentence of man convicted for repeated aggravated penetrative sexual assault on a 7-year-old girl; directs DLSA to ensure compensation and hand over trial judge’s message of encouragement to survivor.
The Delhi High Court has refused to suspend the sentence of a man convicted of repeatedly committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault on a child below 12 years of age, observing that the evidence on record, including forensic material, did not justify his release on bail during the pendency of appeal.
A Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Dinesh Bhatt was hearing the appeal filed by Sumit Shakya against his conviction and sentence passed by the Additional Sessions Judge (POCSO), North-West, Rohini, in Sessions Case No. 772/2023 arising out of FIR No. 350/2023 registered at Police Station Budh Vihar.
The appellant had been convicted for aggravated penetrative sexual assault under Section 6 read with Sections 5(l) and 5(m) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, along with Sections 376AB and 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code, and for criminal intimidation under Section 506 IPC. The trial court sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for life, meaning imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life, along with a fine of Rs. 1,00,000 for the POCSO offence and five years’ rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 20,000 for criminal intimidation. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
While admitting the appeal and issuing notice to the State and the prosecutrix through the Investigating Officer, the High Court declined the appellant’s plea for suspension of sentence under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The Bench noted that, considering the evidence including forensic evidence, it was not inclined at this stage to release the convict on bail.
The Court also took note of the compensation awarded to the child victim by the trial court. Observing the nature of the crime, the depth of suffering and the lifelong impact on the child, the trial court had granted final compensation of Rs. 10,50,000 under Section 33(8) of the POCSO Act and Rule 9 of the POCSO Rules, 2020. The High Court directed the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), North-West Delhi, to file a status report regarding the disbursement of compensation to the victim’s family.
In a notable humanitarian gesture, the trial judge had also addressed a heartfelt post-script to the child survivor, praising her courage and assuring her that the offender would never be free again. The High Court directed the DLSA to print that message and hand it over to the survivor or her family along with the compensation within two weeks.
Bottom Line :
POCSO - Appeal against conviction and sentence for aggravated penetrative sexual assault upon child below 12 years and criminal intimidation - At stage of considering suspension of sentence under Section 528 BNSS, High Court declined to suspend sentence in view of evidence including forensic evidence - Court also sought status report regarding compensation awarded to child victim and directed DLSA to hand over Trial Court's message to survivor along with compensation.
The Bench further directed the appellant to file an affidavit of past criminal antecedents in terms of the Delhi High Court’s Practice Direction
Sumit Shakya v. State of NCT of Delhi, (Delhi)(DB) : Law Finder Doc id # 2987096
