HC reduces life sentence in POCSO case; cites lack of justification for maximum penalty
Bengaluru, Jun 24: The Karnataka High Court has reduced the sentence of an accused in a POCSO Act case from life imprisonment to 10 years, emphasising the need for valid reasons when imposing the maximum penalty.
The accused, a 27-year-old man from Chikkamagaluru, had his appeal partially allowed by a division bench consisting of Justices Sreenivas Harish Kumar and C M Joshi. However, the court increased his fine from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000.
The case involved the accused befriending and repeatedly sexually assaulting a minor girl in his neighborhood in June 2016. The girl's mother filed a complaint in December 2016 after finding that her daughter was pregnant.
A DNA test confirmed the accused as the biological father. The police registered an FIR and filed a charge-sheet following their investigation.
On June 11, 2018, a special court in the district headquarters town of Chikkamagaluru sentenced the accused to life imprisonment under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and imposed a Rs 5,000 fine after finding him guilty of criminal intimidation.
The accused challenged the verdict in the High Court, arguing that the girl's age had not been proven with proper documents.
The division bench, upon reviewing the case, noted that the oral testimony suggested the girl's consent, although it was legally irrelevant given her actual age of 12 at the time of the incident.
The bench remarked that this indication of consent opposed the imposition of the maximum sentence under Section 6 of the POCSO Act.
It concluded that the special court had not provided sufficient reasons for imposing the maximum life sentence.
According to the law as it stood on the date of the crime, Section 6 of the POCSO Act allowed for a minimum sentence of 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment.
The court ruled that imposing the maximum sentence required valid reasons, which were absent in the special court's judgment. Consequently, the court, in its recent order, modified the sentence to 10 years' imprisonment.
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Udhayanidhi Stalin elevated as deputy CM, Senthil Balaji makes a comeback in TN cabinet reshuffle
Chennai, Sep 28: Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Saturday approved Chief Minister M K Stalin's recommendations on a cabinet reshuffle that included the elevation of his son Udhayanidhi as deputy CM and saw the return of V Senthil Balaji to the council of ministers, two days after the Supreme Court granted him bail in a money laundering case.
Further, three ministers, including Mano Thangaraj who held the Dairy Development portfolio, have been dropped.
Besides Balaji, Dr Govi Chezhiaan, R Rajendran and S M Nasar have been inducted. Balaji had resigned in February this year, months after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a cash-for-jobs scam.
According to a Raj Bhavan release, CM Stalin "recommended to the Governor of Tamil Nadu (Ravi) to allot the portfolio of Planning and Development to Thiru Udhayanidhi Stalin, Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development, in addition to his existing portfolios and be designated as Deputy Chief Minister."
The Governor has approved the recommendations, it said, adding, the swearing-in ceremony of the ministers designate will be held on Sunday at 3.30 pm in Raj Bhavan.
Further, Minister for Higher Education, Dr K Ponmudy, is Minister for Forests.
