Madras High Court in a recent judgement urged the state government to take stringent actions against Family members or close friends accused of sexually abusing a child. The Hon’ble Court also urged the state government to make strict laws in the matter to prevent it from happening. The Hon’ble Court talked about severe punishments, awareness programmes and availability of protection homes for children to protect children from such heinous crimes.

Facts of the Case

The accused was convicted of sexually abusing and impregnating his stepdaughter. The victim’s biological father had died when she was only four months old, and her mother had married the accused. The victim was living with her grandparents, but the accused forced her mother to bring her to his house. When the victim suffered from stomach pain, she was taken to a hospital, where it was found that she was six months pregnant. Following this, the victim told her mother that her stepfather had sexually abused her and threatened not to reveal the matter to anyone.

The complaint was filed by the victim’s mother. The accused challenged the conviction against him, citing delay in filing the complaint, discrepancies in the statement and not conducting a DNA test.

Argument of the petitioner

The accused argued  that there was a delay in filing the complaint, so the case should be dismissed. He also argued  that there were discrepancies in the statements of the victim and no DNA test was conducted hence there was not enough evidence. He argued that based on these reasons, he should be acquitted.

Argument of the Respondent

The prosecution said that the delay in filing the complaint was due to the mental condition of the victim. The prosecution also argued that minor discrepancies in the victim’s statement are normal. The lack of DNA tests was also not considered important, as the medical reports and the victim’s statement were sufficient.

Court’s Observations

The bench of Hon’ble Justice G.R. Swaminathan and Justice  R. Poornima expressed concern over the increasing cases of sexual crimes against children committed by family members or close friends. The court held that children who are victims of such crimes suffer serious physical, mental and emotional harm. The Hon’ble Bench also observed  that most of the cases of such a nature go unreported as there is a deep shame and fear about such crimes in society. “In our society till date, the girl who undergoes sexual assault is not treated equally with others but treated by society as if she committed a sin. That is the reason for many of them not revealing the same to anyone,” the court said

The Hon’ble  court also stated that children who are victims of these crimes suffer lifelong mental trauma and many times these cases do not come to light due to fear for the family’s reputation or future.

The Hon’ble court also asked the state to take immediate steps to prevent such crimes. The Hon’ble court observed that: “We are of the opinion that it is for the State to take serious efforts to curtail the offence by enacting the law and impose severe punishments to those involved in sexual offence are family members or close friends. The state should take immediate steps to protect the children from sexual offence by providing awareness programmes in all television channels, theatre, schools. The Child Welfare Committee should visit hostels, schools etc., to see that any child affected with sexual harassment and take necessary action. The State should provide funds to open protection homes for the children aged between 1 to 17 in order to protect them from sexual offence”.

Court’s Decision

The Hon’ble court dismissed the appeal of the accused and upheld his conviction. The court said that the crime committed by the accused against the victim was extremely serious, and he should have been punished.

The Hon’ble  court recommended the following steps:

• Making stringent laws: The state government should make laws that provide stringent punishment for sexual crimes committed against children by family members or close friends.
• Awareness programs: The state government should organize programs to spread awareness against sexual abuse of children in schools, theaters, and TV channels.
• Establishment of protection homes: Protection homes should be established for children to protect them from sexual crimes.
• Action of Child Welfare Committee: The Child Welfare Committee should visit schools and hostels to ensure that children are not victims of sexual abuse and action should be taken if needed.

– Credits: By Anaida Khan Pursuing 5th year of BALLB (Hons.) from Dharmashashtra National Law University, Jabalpur