Noida: A special Pocso court has sentenced a man to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a cumulative fine of Rs 80,000 for aggravated penetrative sexual assault of his minor niece and nephew. The court convicted him under multiple provisions of IPC and the Pocso Act, awarding sentences on three counts, with the maximum term being 20 years.Based on a complaint filed by the children’s mother, an FIR was registered at Sector 24 police station under sections 376AB and 506 of IPC and sections 5/6 and 9/10 of Pocso Act on March 22, 2022. She told the cops she had noticed blood in her 8-year-old daughter’s undergarments on March 14. The child told her that her uncle had sexually assaulted her. She added that a year ago, her son had also complained about the same uncle. He had told her that their uncle used to masturbate in front of him and showed him pornographic images.A few days later, the man was arrested, and police filed a chargesheet on Aug 16 that year, and the court framed charges on Oct 17. The man pleaded not guilty to the charge, and the trial began. The prosecution examined eight witnesses, including the minor survivors, their parents and the doctor who conducted the medico-legal examination. The defence also came up with four witnesses, including the accused’s wife and brother.The children’s mother told the court she did not file a complaint after hearing her son’s ordeal out of social stigma, but later when she spotted blood on her daughter’s undergarments, she took her to a hospital. The doctor diagnosed that she had been sexually abused for a long period of time.This statement was corroborated by the girl. She said that her uncle had been touching her inappropriately since the time she was in preschool and the activities went on for nearly five years. The boy said their uncle had threatened to kill him if he ever spoke about sexual harassment.The defence examined witnesses to argue that an ongoing property dispute within the family had prompted the survivor’s mother to file a false case out of vengeance. However, special public prosecutor JP Bhati relied on the testimony of the investigating officer, who told the court that he found no evidence of any property dispute after questioning several family members.The defence also sought to cast doubt on the prosecution’s case by highlighting an inconclusive medical report. The doctor who conducted the ultrasound examination had noted a urinary tract infection but did not link it to aggravated penetrative sexual assault. In response, Bhati cited a Supreme Court judgment , arguing that in cases involving sexual offences under the Pocso Act, medical evidence is not essential to corroborate the survivor’s testimony.Additional sessions judge Abhishek Pandey said the testimony of the boy and the girl appears to be true, genuine and trustworthy and therefore it can be made a ground to pass a just and proper judgement. He then sentenced the siblings’ uncle to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.
