Palghar court: Man gets 20-year rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting minor boy

A Palghar court has sentenced a 41yearold man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a minor boy rejecting the defence argument that the incident was improbable in a densely populated neighbourhoodSpecial Judge A H Kashikar found Madhu Dharma Govari a labourer from Vasai in Maharashtrarsquos Palghar district guilty under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences POCSO Act and relevant provisions of the Indian Penal CodeCourt rejects defence argumentAccording to the prosecution the victim was 14 years old when the incident took place on December 12 2020 The accused who was the boyrsquos neighbour allegedly took him to a terrace on the pretext of showing him young pigeonsThe prosecution said the accused subsequently assaulted the boy and threatened him The victim later managed to escape and informed his maternal aunt despite alleged attempts by the accused to prevent him from reporting the incident An FIR was registered on the same dayDuring the trial the defence argued that the alleged assault was unlikely to have occurred in a crowded localityThe court rejected the contention observing that bystander apathy is common in modern public spaces and does not by itself discredit a victimrsquos testimonyThe court also noted that evidence established that the accused and the victim were together on the terrace It said the accusedrsquos claim of alibi was therefore selfcontradictoryForensic evidence corroborated testimonyThe court found that forensic evidence linked the accused to the offence and held that a minorrsquos consent is legally immaterial in a case under the POCSO ActIt further observed that procedural delays or shortcomings during the investigation did not weaken the prosecution case because the victimrsquos testimony was credible and supported by circumstantial and forensic evidenceThe judge also noted that previous discord or enmity between families could provide a motive for committing an offence and could not automatically be treated as evidence of false implicationCourt awards 20year sentenceThe court sentenced Govari to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under the POCSO Act and 10 years under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code Both sentences will run concurrentlyThe court also imposed a fine of Rs 30000 and directed that the amount be given to the victim for rehabilitationAdditionally the court directed the District Legal Services Authority DLSA Thane to provide further compensation to the victim in accordance with the applicable rulesWith inputs from PTI