Mumbai: Convicting a man under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, the Bombay High Court (HC) last week reduced his sentence from life imprisonment to 12 years in jail, taking into account, among other things, Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts, writing of his books and the credentials he earned while writing. Imprisonment
The judges also said that considering the seriousness of the crime, they imposed a sentence that exceeded the minimum of 10 years. (Bhushan Kwande)Also read: ‘Misappropriation of public money must be viewed seriously’: HC
Accused, A Ghatkopar Chaul, was 20 years old when he sexually assaulted a five-year-old girl – his neighbour’s daughter – in December 2016. He was convicted in 2020. While the HC found no fault in the special POCSO court convicting him for the offence, it cited various reasons for reducing his life from 2 years. More than nine have already been served. The court said that when the accused committed the crime, he had no criminal antecedents and, “it is also important that the accused was not released on bail, even during the Covid-19.”
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The court also took note of three certificates filed by the accused during his imprisonment, which were produced by his lawyers OP Lalwani and Gipson John. Among them was a certificate issued by Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune, for participating in a program on “Book Analysis”, a second certificate by Ramchandra Pratishtan, Mumbai, for participating in “Essay Competition” and a third certificate from Mumbai Sarvodaya Mandal “for studying the thought of Mahatma Gandhi, in which he successfully participated,” the judge said in their order that the examination passed.
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A division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Sandesh Patil said: “Considering all these factors cumulatively, we will show some leniency to him as part of the sentencing.”
The judges also said that considering the seriousness of the crime, they imposed a sentence that exceeded the minimum of 10 years. “In our opinion, a sentence of 12 years will serve the ends of justice,” they said.
