Srinagar, Oct 31: The Principal Sessions Judge, Baramulla, has awarded 14 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹50,000 to a man convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Ordinance and Section 447 of the RPC for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in 2018.
The court, presided over by Principal Sessions Judge Jawad Ahmed, according to the Srinagar-based news agency Kashmir Dot Com, observed that the offence was committed with “barbaric intent,” describing it as an act that inflicted deep psychological and emotional trauma not only upon the victim but also upon her entire family.
The court rejected the defence’s request for leniency, stating that the convict’s personal hardships “cannot outweigh the enormity of his crime.”
The verdict followed detailed proceedings that included an extensive hearing on the quantum of punishment. The prosecution argued that the assault had stripped the victim of her childhood, dignity, and peace of mind, leaving scars on her family that “cannot be healed by time alone.”
It was pointed out that the offender, then a married man in his mid-forties, had preyed upon a teenage girl, an aggravating circumstance that, in the court’s view, “shattered the moral conscience of society.”
The court also noted that the convict had a prior criminal record, with three other FIRs registered against him at the same police station, including one (FIR No. 06/2011) for rape under Section 376 RPC, which is still pending trial. “While on bail in a similar case, he repeated the offence of like nature,” the court recorded, adding that such conduct made it unsafe for society to “let him roam free.”
At the same time, the court acknowledged certain mitigating circumstances, including the convict’s age, loss of his wife, and the presence of dependent children.
However, citing the balance between aggravating and mitigating factors, the court concluded that a midway sentence between the statutory minimum and life imprisonment was appropriate.
Quoting legal precedents from Lord Denning and landmark Supreme Court rulings such as State of M.P. vs. Bala alias Balram and Bachan Singh vs. State of Punjab, the judgment stated, “Punishment is the way society expresses its denunciation of wrongdoing. For grave crimes, it must reflect the revulsion felt by the great majority of citizens.”
The court further remarked, “The offence committed by the convict is of such a nature that it not only affects the victim but shakes the collective conscience of society. Such acts demand punishment that both denounces the conduct and deters repetition.”
In its sentencing order, the court directed that the 14-year term under Section 4 read with Section 3 of the POCSO Ordinance and the three-month sentence under Section 447 RPC would run concurrently. The period already spent in custody, four years, three months, and nineteen days, would be set off against the total term.
The judge also recommended adequate compensation to the victim under the J&K Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019, to be processed through the J&K Legal Services Authority.
The prosecution in the case was led by Public Prosecutor Mirza Zahid Khalil, known for securing convictions in sensitive and complex sexual offence cases across north Kashmir.
Khalil, who has successfully represented the state in several landmark prosecutions, including the conviction of a self-proclaimed cleric, Aijaz Ahmad Sheikh, sentenced to 30 years for repeatedly raping and abusing minors in a religious seminary, once again ensured the delivery of a strong, evidence-based conviction in this case. (KDC)
