Delhi High Court Reverses Acquittal, Holds Father Guilty Of Repeatedly Raping Minor Daughter

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reversed the acquittal of a man and held him guilty for repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting his minor daughter for around two years in 2011-13.

The man was acquitted by the trial court in June 2019. The FIR was registered on January 2013 on the basis of the victim's statement alleging that she was being assaulted by him for the last two years- 2011. The last incident of sexual assault was reported to be on January 04, 2013.

As per the case of the prosecution, the minor was hardly 10 years old when she was sexually assaulted for the first time by her father, who was working as a security guard.

A division bench comprising Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain observed that it was not a motivated or planted case and that neither the victim nor her mother could muster enough courage and report the incident to the police.

“Had they immediately rushed to the police, the victim might have been saved from perpetual trauma,” the court said.

It added: “The wrongdoer was not any outsider or stranger. Victim must have thought that she would find a „monastery‟ in the lap of her father. Little did she realize that he was rather a monster.‟

The bench held the man guilty of the offences publishable under Section 6 (Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act and Sections 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.

The bench did not find the testimony of the victim to be uninspiring or untrue from any angle whatsoever.

“We are cognizant of the fact that the sexual assault was being committed upon the victim for last two years by her own father and keeping in mind her young age as well as of her bother, some inconsistencies or variations are bound to occur,” the court said.

It added that the Trial Court got swayed because of the delay in reporting the matter and also gave unwarranted weightage to the contradictions, which were superficial in nature.

“Moreover, we are not inclined to hold that merely because there were minor quarrels between the respondent and his wife, the victim would churn out a story claiming that she was being sexually assaulted for the last two years,” the bench said.

While reversing the acquittal, the court listed the matter for arguments on sentence on May 24.

One of the appeals against the acquittal was filed by the prosecution. Another appeal was filed by the victim, mother and brother. Both the appeals were disposed of by the court vide common judgment.

Title: State v. PDD and other connected matters

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 590

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