Delhi HC modifies 65-year-old man's jail term in case for sexually assaulting minor granddaughter

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has modified the sentence from 10 years to five years of imprisonment of a 65-year-old man for sexually assaulting his minor granddaughter in 2015.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said the allegations regarding the man committing the offence of fingering and penetration upon the child victim do not stand proved beyond a reasonable doubt but the minor has "remained consistent throughout with regard to the allegation regarding the appellant fondling her private parts".

The court partly allowed the man's appeal and altered his conviction for the offence of aggravated penetrative sexual assault to aggravated sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

"Keeping in view the appellant's age being about 65 years, his substantive sentence is modified to rigorous imprisonment for a period of 5 years, which is the minimum mandatory sentence under Section 10 of the POCSO Act," the high court said in its judgment passed on January 6.

According to the prosecution, a complaint was lodged by the six-year-old girl's grandmother in 2015, alleging that her husband sexually assaulted her granddaughter.

The man, however, claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case, there were various inconsistencies in the child's statement and there was also an undue delay in lodging the FIR.

The high court said the allegations regarding fingering and penetration suffer from a serious lack of detail and have remained largely unsubstantiated other than the oral testimonies of the witnesses.

Due to the delayed lodging of the FIR and the consequent delay in the child victim's medical examination, there is no forensic evidence on record, it noted.

The judge said while it is settled law that a conviction can be sustained on the basis of the sole testimony of a child victim of sexual assault and the court need not insist on corroboration, the concerned testimony in such cases needs to be of sterling quality.

"The said bar is not being met in the present case as there are many inconsistencies in the various statements of the child victim," the high court said.

The court said it was of the considered view that the allegations regarding the man committing the offence of fingering and penetration upon the child victim do not stand proved beyond a reasonable doubt and lacked details. PTI SKV SKV KSS KSS