"Accused Cannot Harp On Mild Intellectual Disability To Escape Clutches Of Law": Kerala Court Sentences Man Under POCSO Act

Special Court (POCSO) Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, recently ruled that in cases where the accused is capable of understanding the nature and consequences of his act, he cannot harp on or plead leniency on the basis of mild intellectual disability.

Court was hearing a case where the survivor was ailing with down syndrome and the accused pleaded that due his mental condition, he couldn’t assess the nature of his act.

Judge Rekha R., while imposing rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and fine of Rs.5,000/-, held, “On scrutinizing the deposition of PW24 and PW25 it is evident that IQ score of accused was 55 and he has only mild intellectual disability and is able to understand the act done by him. Nothing has been forthcoming from the deposition of PW24 and PW25 to conclude that accused suffers from intellectual disability of such a degree so as to render him incapable of understanding the nature of the act done by him. Hence accused cannot harp on his mild intellectual disability to escape from the clutches of law in this case.”

The case relates to a gruesome act of penetrative sexual assault committed by a neighbour-relative upon a minor girl, ailing with down syndrome.

On 25.09.2020, at about 11.45 am, the accused secretly entered into the premises where the survivor resided, with a clear intention of committing rape upon her. As per the complaint lodged, the minor girl was subjected to rape and penetrative sexual assault inside the kitchen area of her grandmother’s compound.

The accused also subjected the survivor to penetrative sexual assault on two other days prior to the above date.

Criminal case was registered under Ss. 450, 376(2)(f), 376(2)(j), 376(2)(1), 376(2)(n) of the Penal Code, 1860 along with Ss. 6 read with 5(k), Ss. 6 read with 5(l) and Ss. 6 read with 5(n) of the POCSO Act, 2012.

It was submitted by the accused that he was undergoing treatment at Mental Hospital and that he was falsely implicated in the case – As per the additional statement filed by accused during the questioning under section 313 Cr.PC, he said that he did not commit trespass; that he was innocent and implicated in this case only due to family rivalry.

During examination, PW25 who was a clinical psychologist conducted IQ test on the accused by administering “Binet Kamath Test” for assessment of IQ and “Vineland Social Maturity Scale Test” for evaluating adaptive function of the patient – As per the results obtained, IQ scored by the accused was 55, putting him in the category of mild intellectual disability and his social quotient came upto 69, suggesting mild impairment of social and adaptive function.

“Considering the gravity of the offence committed by accused on PW19, this court is of the definite view that adequate punishment should be imposed on accused in order to sent a strong message to the society and to prevent recurrence of similar offences and to deter potential offenders from committing similar offences. Mild intellectual disability of accused will be considered while imposing sentence”, Court added.

Case Title: State v. XXXXXX