Latest news with #SpecialPOCSOCourt
Hans India
27-05-2025
- Hans India
20-yr jail to man for rape of minor
Bapatla: The Special POCSO Court in Ongole, presided over by Judge K Shailaja, sentenced 65-year-old Tirumalasetti Venkateswarlu to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10000 for repeatedly raping a minor girl. The court also ordered the state government to pay Rs 6 lakh as compensation to the victim. According to the Bapatla district police, the incident occurred in November 2023 in Vetapalem of the Bapatla district. The accused lured a 13-year-old 9th Class student from a local government girls' high school with false promises. The victim, who lived with her parents near the accused's residence, was raped multiple times, at a cement stone manufacturing site operated by the accused. The perpetrator threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the abuse. The crime came to light when the victim complained of stomach pain. After confirmation that the girl is pregnant, at GGH Guntur, the victim's mother filed a complaint on November 17, 2023. The then Vetapalem Police Station SI G Suresh registered the case under sections 376(2)(i)(n) and 506 of the IPC, along with sections 6 r/w 5(l) and 6 r/w 5(j)(ii) of the POCSO Act. The then-Chirala DSP S Prasad Rao conducted a thorough probe, arrested the accused, and filed the charge sheet in the court. During the trial at the Special Ongole POCSO Court, the prosecution team, led by Public Prosecutor G Srinivasarao, successfully proved the charges against the accused with substantial evidence. Bapatla district SP Tushar Doodi praised the coordinated efforts of the investigation team, including Chirala DSP MD Moin, Chirala Rural CI P Seshagiri Rao, Vetapalem SI Venkateswarlu, Court Liaising ASI Swami, and Court Constable Karimullah. He highlighted their role in ensuring witnesses testified fearlessly and appeared in court at the appropriate times.
The Hindu
26-05-2025
- The Hindu
POCSO Court sentences 65-year-old man to 20 years RI for raping minor girl in Bapatla
In a significant judgment delivered on Monday, K. Sailaja, Judge of Special POCSO Court in Ongole, sentenced Tirumalashetty Venkateswarlu, 65, to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹10,000 for repeatedly raping a 13-year-old girl in Vetapalem of Bapatla district. The court also directed the Andhra Pradesh government to pay ₹6 lakh as compensation to the survivor, informed Bapatla district Superintendent of Police Tushar Dudi, in a statement on Monday. The convict, a resident of Vetapalem, lured the minor girl—then a Class 9 student—under false pretences and sexually assaulted her several times near his cement block-making site. The victim, fearing for her life, remained silent after being threatened by the convict. The incident came to light only when the girl complained of abdominal pain and was found to be pregnant during a hospital check-up. Based on a complaint lodged by the girl's mother on November 17, 2023, Vetapalem police registered a case under IPC Sections 376(2)(i)(n), 506 and Sections 5(l), 5(j)(ii) read with 6 of the POCSO Act. The accused was arrested within 24 hours and produce before the court, the SP informed.
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Indian Express
Surat teacher who ‘kidnapped 13-year-old student' aborts pregnancy, undergoes tests to determine paternity
A 23-year-old teacher accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old student terminated her 22-week pregnancy. Fetal samples have been sent for DNA testing to determine paternity. The procedure was conducted early Thursday at SMIMER Hospital, where the teacher was brought from Surat Central Jail, where she is in judicial custody after allegedly 'eloping' with the student. She was booked on April 26 at Punagam police station under sections 137(2) (kidnapping), 127(3) (punishment for wrongful confinement) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the POCSO Act. The two were found on April 29 in Shamlaji, near the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. The boy is undergoing counselling as he is 'in trauma,' sources told The Indian Express. On Tuesday, Special POCSO Court Judge R R Bhatt granted the application for Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) filed by the unmarried accused. Following the court order, Punagam police took custody of the accused from jail on Wednesday and brought her to SMIMER Hospital, where she underwent a primary examination. A team from the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department performed the procedure. Sources at SMIMER said the accused is stable but weak due to heavy blood loss. She will remain in the hospital for a few days until fit to return to jail. Punagam police inspector V M Desai told The Indian Express, 'The fetus had been preserved and samples were taken from it, which have been sent for a DNA test at the Forensic Science Laboratory today. Through a DNA test, we would know who the father is. Once we get the report from FSL, we will submit it to the Special POCSO court in the coming days. The accused teacher will have to stay in the hospital for a few more days as her physical condition is too weak. Once she becomes physically fit, we will leave her at Surat Central Jail. A police team has been deployed at the ward where she is admitted, so that she does not escape.' Desai further added, 'We have also carried out counselling of the victim boy with the psychiatrist for five days, as he was also under mental trauma. Now his condition is reported to be stable.' An FIR was registered against the teacher on April 26 after she and the boy went missing on April 25 and the boy's father filed a complaint at Punagam police station. Following their arrest on April 29, the teacher underwent a medical examination and has since been in judicial custody at Surat Central Jail. On May 9, defence lawyer Wajid Shaikh applied to the Special POCSO court seeking permission for abortion under Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.
Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Indian Express
Gujarat POCSO court awards life term to man for raping biological daughter
'Safety and security don't just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment', a Special POCSO Court in Mehsana district said on Wednesday quoting Nelson Mandela, as it awarded 'life imprisonment till the last breath' to a 45-year-old man for raping his 15-year-old biological daughter mutliple times. Stating that the case falls within the ambit of heinous crimes, the court of Special POCSO Judge Mehsana, Sarang Kale, said on Wednesday, 'The accused has committed rape on his real daughter. If a man with such a mentality (is) allowed to live in society, no girl or lady will be safe. So the accused must be awarded the maximum punishment in terms of sentence, i.e. imprisonment for life till the last breath.' The court also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on the convict. The FIR in the case was lodged in April 2024 while charges were framed in June and the trial commenced on July 18 last year. As per the arguments put forth by Mehsana district government pleader V B Barot, the man's wife, who is the victim's mother, had approached the police in April 2024 after the younger sibling of the victim informed her about their father 'dragging the elder sister to the upper floor and locking the room'. The victim had then confided in her mother that her father had allegedly forced himself upon her seven or eight times and also regularly showed her objectionable videos. The prosecution informed the court that the victim had also confided in the complainant that the accused had threatened to kill her and the family, to stop her from telling anything to her mother. The prosecution case further stated that as the complainant took the two daughters with her to work the following day, the accused called, asking her to return immediately and threatened to kill all of them. The complainant then went to Bharuch to one of their relatives' house and returned to Mehsana two days later to file the complaint. The accused was booked under IPC Sections [376(2)(f)(n)] (rape by relative, guardian or a person in position of trust; multiple rape on the same victim), 376(3) (rape on a woman under 16 years of age), 506(1) (Criminal intimidation) and under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The court examined a total of 10 witnesses and 20 documentary pieces of evidence in the case. The court order states that the accused, during his trial, denied the case of the prosecution and claimed that he was being falsely implicated, but did not put up any defence against the charges. Considering the submissions of the prosecution as well as the witnesses and the medical evidence that showed the victim had been sexually assaulted by the accused, the court said, 'This is a very unique and serious kind of a case. This court has come across so many cases under the POCSO Act. So many cases are decided by this court. But this is a very unfortunate moment that this court had to try this case where an accused under POCSO Act is the real father of the victim girl. While enacting POCSO Act, the Legislature could also have had no reason to think that any father can be an accused under POCSO Act for raping his real daughter. This court has no words to describe its anguish against the heinous act of this accused.' The court further said that to escape from the charges leveled against him, the accused even tried to 'prove that his daughter is not of good character' and also made alleged that his wife was involved in an affair with another man. The court said, 'It was marked by this court that no signs of sorrow or repentance were there in the body language of the accused. Not only this, during the period of trial when he was brought to the court from jail, he somehow managed a mobile phone and called the victim on her number before she was going to depose in the court. By calling the victim, the accused tried to emotionally influence the victim… As a result, the responsible police officer was also suspended. This court is speechless and really shocked to come across such kind of case.' Noting the 'emotional trauma' experienced by the two daughters, especially the victim, the court said, 'Accused has not only threatened victim but has also threatened her younger sister. This court is really worried about the future of this victim girl…' Invoking Article 45 of the Constitution, which recognises the importance of dignity and personality of the child, the court said, 'We live in a society where the safety and security of children remain an unfulfilled promise… The society… needs a system which takes care of the social milieu in which girls and women are safer…' The court also granted a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the victim under the Gujarat Victim Compensation Fund.
New Indian Express
26-04-2025
- New Indian Express
Orissa HC cautions courts against adopting casual approach to trial, sets aside death sentence
CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has called upon all trial courts to uphold the constitutional guarantee of fairness, diligence, and due process at every stage of the proceedings. 'Courts should remain alive to the fact that the duty to conduct trials in accordance with the law becomes all the more heightened when dealing with allegations involving heinous offences punishable with death or life imprisonment. Cavalier or casual approach to such trials not only imperils the rights of the accused but also erodes the legitimacy of the criminal justice system itself,' the division bench of Justices Chittaranjan Dash and BP Routray has remarked. The observations were made as the bench quashed the conviction and death sentence awarded to the accused by a Special POCSO court in a case of rape and murder of a five-year-old girl. The incident was reported in Sundargarh district in 2016. The Additional District Judge-cum-Presiding Officer Special POCSO Court (Sundargarh) Mahendra Kumar Sutradhar convicted accused Sanjeeb Kerketta and imposed the death sentence on October 19, 2023. The death sentence order was then sent by the state government to the high court for confirmation. The division bench of Justices Chittaranjan Dash and BP Routray quashed the conviction and death sentence on Wednesday. 'In view of cumulative effect of the serious procedural irregularities, this court is of the considered opinion that a fresh trial is the only course available in the present case. Accordingly, the conviction and sentence passed against the convict are set aside. The matter is remanded to the trial Court for a de novo (fresh) trial from the stage of framing of charges,' the bench ordered. The high court upon a cumulative evaluation of the records found that the trial proceedings were afflicted by multiple and grave irregularities, including improper and inadequate examination under section 313 of the CrPC, failure to consider mitigating circumstances (such as the accused's background, mental health, and post-conviction conduct) at sentencing, and denial of a distinct and fair sentencing hearing. Conviction and sentencing were conducted on the same day. Each of these deficiencies, standing alone, would be sufficient to occasion serious prejudice, the bench observed. 'The procedural safeguards are not ornamental; they are constitutional imperatives designed to ensure that justice is not only done but seen to be done,' the bench observed and directed the trial court to ensure that the accused is afforded effective legal assistance, all prosecution witnesses are examined afresh, and that the accused is properly examined under section 313 of the CrPC, with each material circumstance put to him clearly, distinctly, and separately.
