TN Man Sentenced to 20 Years in POCSO, SC Remits His Sentence to Save Marriage With Victim

The Supreme Court commuted the 20-year sentence of a man from Tamil Nadu, who was found guilty of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Monday remitted the 20-year sentence of a Tamil Nadu-based man convicted for sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl, whom he later married and had children. A special three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and BR Gavai said: “In the course of hearing the curative petition, there have been some arguments regarding the age of the prosecutrix. We have borne in mind the judgment rendered by two benches of this court”.

At this juncture senior advocate Sidharth Luthra urged the bench to use the power under Article 142, to do complete justice, on the sentence part and not on the offence. The bench passed the order under the extraordinary powers of the Supreme Court to do ‘complete justice’ endowed on it by Article 142 of the Constitution, on a curative petition, a rare remedy, filed by the convict, Sankar.

The accused was sentenced to suffer imprisonment for 20 years and a fine of Rs 2 lakhs on default of which he was directed to undergo simple imprisonment for five years. The Madras High Court in February 2021, had affirmed the judgment of the trial court. The apex court dismissed the special leave petition filed by the accused against the High Court in August 2021. The review petition was also dismissed by the apex court in March 2022.

“In peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, we are inclined to exercise the jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution, to remit the remaining part of the sentence. In consequence, the petitioner shall be released on the sentence, which has been undergone. The fine which has been imposed by the trial judge will stand waived….”, said the bench, in its order.

The petitioner had argued that with his incarceration, his marital life with the assault victim, who is his wife now, has been shattered, leaving her and her children destitute.

The man was convicted and sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 6 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2018. The petitioner, in his curative plea, had said that he and the victim had been married for many years and had two children. The apex court was informed that the man was the uncle of the victim.

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