The Crime against the children is on rising in the state and in most of the cases the accused gets away without any punishments but here, in this case, the Goa Children’s Court on Tuesday sentenced a 45-year-old laborer to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs. 3.6 lakh for raping his minor nephew.
The Public prosecutor, F Noronha argued that the accused deserved maximum punishment as the seven-year-old boy who was assaulted, was only four years old at that time, due to which he has been traumatized for life.
Noronha told the court that while the boy’s mother passed away a few years ago, his father’s whereabouts being unknown, he was living at a shelter home since 2012. He had only been visiting his maternal uncles and aunts.
Considering the mental agony the boy was put through, the court decided it was a fit case to grant compensation of Rs. 5 lakh to him and further reported the matter to the collector to act within 30 days of the receipt.
Vandana Tendulkar, President of the Children’s Court, referred to e Supreme Court’s observation, that when a woman is raped, it is not merely physical injury, but the deep sense of ‘deathless shame’ causing mental scars. This same principle should apply to a boy too, she stated.
Despite no medical evidence emerging as the incident relates to an assault that took place three to four years prior to his complaint, the court held that non-availability of medical evidence itself cannot be grounds to disbelieve the boy who stands firm by his testimony.
The court also stated that instead of supporting the boy, the other maternal uncle and aunt preferred to support their accused brother, further isolating the boy.
Source: TOI
