'Caste can't be used to show leniency in child sexual assault case': SC

Concluding the judgment, the apex court suggested that whenever a child is subjected to sexual assault, the state or the legal services authorities should ensure that the child is provided with facility of counselling by a trained child counsellor or child psychologist. -- Reports ETV Bharat's Sumit Saxena

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday said that caste of the accused cannot be considered for showing leniency in the rape of a young girl aged between five to six years. The apex court said the case has shocked the conscience of the court and "the offence is so gruesome and heinous that it will impact the victim for her entire life”.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal said, “The caste of the accused is, per se, not a consideration for showing leniency in the cases of such offences. Here, we are dealing with a case where the victim was five to six years old”.

The bench noted that in the cause title of the judgments of the trial court and the high court, the accused's caste has been mentioned. "We fail to understand why the caste of the accused has been mentioned in the cause title of the judgments of the High Court and the Trial Court. The caste or religion of a litigant should never be mentioned in the cause title of the judgment," said the bench.

The top court stressed that an accused has no caste or religion when the court deals with his case. The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by the Rajasthan government against the high court's judgment which reduced the sentence awarded to accused Gautam from life imprisonment to 12 years in jail. The bench said that the case has shocked the conscience of the court and "the offence is so gruesome and heinous that it will impact the victim for her entire life”.

“The childhood of the victim has been destroyed. The victim's life has been ruined due to the trauma and everlasting impact on her mind. It must have converted the victim into a psychological wreck," said the bench, sentencing the accused to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 14 years. The apex court noted the high court showed leniency to the accused as he was a 22-year-old man and also belonged to a poor Scheduled Caste family, and also recorded that he was not a habitual offender.

The apex court said, "This is a case which impacts the society. If undue leniency is shown to the respondent in the facts of the case, it will undermine the common man's confidence in the justice delivery system”. The bench said the punishment must be commensurate with the gravity of the offence, and when it comes to sentencing, the court is not only concerned with the accused but the crime as well.

However, the apex court said two factors prevent it from restoring the life sentence – his age was 22, as noted by the high court, and he has undergone 12 years of the sentence imposed by the high court. Of the Rs 25,000 fine, the top court directed Rs 20,000 should be paid to the victim. It also directed the Secretary of the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority to ensure that the compensation is paid to the victim under the victim compensation scheme of the state.

Concluding the judgment, the apex court suggested that whenever a child is subjected to sexual assault, the state or the legal services authorities should ensure that the child is provided with facility of counselling by a trained child counsellor or child psychologist.

“It will help the victim children to come out of the trauma, which will enable them to lead a better life in future. The State needs to ensure that the children who are the victims of the offence continue with their education. The social environment around the victim child may not always be conducive to the victim's rehabilitation. Only the monetary compensation is not enough”, said the bench.

The bench said perhaps the rehabilitation of the female victims in life should be part of the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” campaign of the central government. “As a welfare State, it will be the duty of the Government to do so. We are directing that the copies of this judgment should be sent to the Secretaries of the concerned departments of the State”, it said.