In a significant development, the Bombay High Court has suspended a 15-year rigorous imprisonment sentence awarded to a 28-year-old man by a Pune sessions court for the alleged repeated rape of a minor girl. The court has ordered the convict's release on bail, raising questions about the evidence regarding the survivor's age and citing indications of a consensual relationship.
High Court's Grounds for Suspending Sentence
The bench of Justice RM Joshi, on November 28, suspended the March 23, 2022 judgement of the Pune sessions court. The bench observed a prima facie substance in the defense counsel's argument about inconsistencies in proving the survivor's date of birth. This directly impacts the application of the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
Furthermore, the High Court noted that the cross-examination of the survivor, who was a Standard X student at a school in Aundh at the time, suggested she was a "consenting party to the sexual relation" and that it appeared to be a "case of love affair." Considering that the convict's appeal was unlikely to be heard soon, the court suspended the sentence and granted bail.
Case Timeline and Key Facts
The incident came to light on August 10, 2018, when the girl informed her mother about missing her periods for five months. Medical tests at Sassoon General Hospital confirmed a five-month pregnancy. The girl initially told her parents the man had forced her into a physical relationship.
A police complaint was lodged on August 14, 2018, leading to the accused's arrest on August 18, 2018. Police investigations later revealed that the DNA of the baby girl, born subsequently, matched that of the accused. The trial court convicted him under IPC provisions for repeated rape of a minor and the Pocso Act, sentencing him to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment.
Defense Arguments and Immediate Release
Advocate Harshawardhan Pawar, representing the convict, argued in the High Court that the prosecution failed to properly discharge the onus of proving the survivor's age. He pointed to the survivor's birth certificate, issued on August 29, 2018—after the FIR was registered—as a point of doubt.
"Our client was out on bail during the trial. He was arrested and sent to jail on March 23, 2022, following the conviction. He was in prison for over three years and will be out in the next few days after completing bail formalities," Pawar told TOI. The convict had been behind bars since his conviction over three years ago.
The High Court's order to suspend the sentence and grant bail marks a pivotal turn in this long-running case, shifting the legal focus to the appeal proceedings where the issues of age and consent will be examined in detail.
