Rape, sexual assault on daughter: Man’s death sentence reduced to life

CHENNAI: A man who was sentenced to death last year by a trial court for raping and impregnating his daughter after sexually assaulting her since she was seven years old will now face life imprisonment after the Madras High Court held that this case does not come under the rarest of the rare category. The court also reduced the life imprisonment awarded to the girl’s mother to six months.

The case came as a referred trial before a division bench of Justice SS Sundar and Justice Sunder Mohan. The man, apart from making his daughter sleep next to him naked since she was seven years old, raped her several times and also inserted objects in her private parts, the prosecution submitted.

In her deposition before the trial court, the girl had stated that her father used to assist her when she took bath and justified the act saying that it is common in the Western countries.

Due to repeated sexual assault, she got pregnant at the age of 15 during the time of her SSLC examinations. He had kicked her on her back and punched on her lower abdomen by keeping a pillow over her and even gave her papaya fruits. Since there was no miscarriage even after that, he gave her tablets to cause the miscarriage, according to her deposition.

When the case came before the Madras high court, the prosecution submitted that the witness statements and medico legal evidence corroborated the victim’s version. After hearing submissions from the prosecution and the legal aid counsels of the accused, the Madras high court bench noted that the victim had been consistent in her stand throughout and her evidence inspires confidence and that there is no material to doubt her version.

Holding the man guilty under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO)act for penetrative sexual assault, the bench however commuted his death sentence to that of life imprisonment. “We are of the view that it is not a case which would fall under the ‘rarest of rare’ category,” the bench stated.

The court also acquitted the mother who was sentenced to life imprisonment and confirmed the six month jail-term imposed on her.

CHENNAI: Expressing regret that two-finger test was conducted on the victim after perusing the medico legal examination report to prove penetrative sexual assault, Madras high court warned the doctors that they will be held guilty of misconduct. “We notice regrettably that two finger test was conducted in this case, though the Supreme Court, in several cases have repeatedly held that such a test is neither acceptable nor desirable to ascertain whether the victim was subjected to sexual intercourse,” the division bench of Justice SS Sundar and Justice Sunder Mohan said.