Read Time: 06 minutes

Synopsis

The Special Judge of the Fast Track Special Court (POCSO), Thiruvananthapuram Judge Aaj Sudarsan recently sentenced a transwoman Sachu Samson @Shefina who hails from Anathalavattom near Chirayinkeezhu for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old minor boy in the year 2016.

The accused has been convicted for the offence punishable under sec 377 of IPC (unnatural offence). The accused was male by birth but identified as a woman during the trial.

Court sentenced the accused to rigorous imprisonment for seven years and a Rs 25000 fine, failing to which, her imprisonment will increase for one more year.

A special fast-track court examining the offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO Act) cited section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and the 2018 case of Navtej Singh Johar vs. Union of India and stated that Section 377 IPC was only interpreted to decriminalize consensual homosexual activity among adults.

According to the reports, the incident occurred on February 23, 2016, when the accused met the victim, who was traveling from Chirayinkeez to Thiruvananthapuram by train. She brought the child to the public washroom in Thambanoor and subjected him to unnatural sexual harassment. Even though the boy refused to accompany the defendant, the defendant threatened him. The mother learned about the molestation when she saw the messages and started communicating with the accused. As requested by the police, the accused's mother sent her messages and brought her to Thambanoor, where the police arrested her.

The defence highlighted the sexual orientation of the accused and said that the FIR had been filed against Sachu Samson @ Shefina and that the accused had always been transgender. A medical certificate was also presented to the court as evidence of Gender Affirmative Medical Intervention.

The victim in his statement said that the accused, who looked like a woman at the trial, was actually a man at the time of the crime.

The court heard both sides, looked at the victim's statement, and ruled against the accused.

Court found that the accused, who was a man in 2016 before he changed his gender, had oral sex with the child, who is a male. "Because of this, section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with "unnatural offences," will be used instead of section 376 (Punishment for rape) because section 375 of IPC (Rape) is only applicable to women and it does accept men as a victim", Court opined.

Court deemed it fit to convict the accused for the offences punishable under Sections 377 IPC read with section 3(d) and section 4 of the POCSO Act which also provides for punishment for forcing oral sex on a minor.

Case Title: State v. Sachu Samson

Statutes – The Indian Penal Code 1860 and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences 2012

Source – The Print and NDTV