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Synopsis

A division bench of the Bombay High Court at Aurangabad, comprising Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Abhay Waghase, recently upheld a life conviction sentence awarded to a man who was convicted of raping his 12-year-old daughter.

The appellant-father was convicted by a Special POCSO Court under the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, against which he had filed an appeal before the Bombay High Court.

The court was hearing the case wherein the appellant, after a fight with his wife, had taken the minor girl and her siblings to his native place. At night, the appellant, the minor girl and the siblings slept in an agricultural field. In the middle of the night, the appellant took the minor girl to another place and raped her. After that, the appellant brought back the minor girl and the siblings back to her mother.

When the minor girl informed the mother about the incident, she filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the man.

The defence had contended that the minor girl did not tell her mother immediately but informed her after continuing her daily routine of going to school. The court in its order observed:

“Unless the comfort is given to the girl, she will not disclose such facts to anybody. That comfort appears to have been given by the mother or after she saw mother, she became comfortable and then she disclosed the incident to her mother.”

The division bench in its order also recorded that in such situations all girls would not behave in the same fashion and the psychology of the girl is required to be considered.

“Here we are required to consider the relationship. The accused is a father and the girl might be under pressure. The psychology of such girls is required to be considered and also the fact that all the girls will not behave in the same fashion in such situation. It depends upon the temperament of the particular person to face a tough situation,” the bench recorded.

The high court in its order also added that if no such incident had taken place then the appellant could have examined the elder sister who was allegedly with a minor girl and her brother when the said act took place. However, the appellant had not examined both of them

While upholding the conviction, the division bench noted that the mother will not put the girl in such a situation just to take revenge and will not ask the girl to stand against the father.

Case title: XYZ vs State of Maharashtra