No relief for accused in 12-yr-old girl rape case

The revision petitioner Deena Dayalan arrayed as accused 12 was charged under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) along with 16 others.

Justice V Parthiban while dismissing the plea observed, “It is indeed an audacious move to file the present revision petition against the order passed by the trial court in dismissing the discharge petition, when prima facie, there exist materials to proceed against this revision petitioner by theprosecution.”

“Instead of facing the trial to prove his innocence, the petitioner has approached the trial court to discharge him from the offences charged against him, expecting the trial court to pronounce his innocence at the very threshold,” the judge said.

Also, holding that in this case, the trial court has held that there was sufficient materials available for proceeding against the accused and this court does not find any infirmity passed in the order passed by the trial calling for interference, Justice Parthiban said “When the victim girl herself has identified the accused in her statement and the provisions of POCSO Act clearly provide for presumption in favour of the prosecution, unless the contrary is proved, it is not open to the accused to resort to the discharge petition, as a matter of routine like in other criminal cases.”

The judge in his order on noting that it was not the run of the mill criminal case of case of sexual assault, which normally come up for scrutiny before the criminal court, said, “This case shocked the moral conscience of the society at large when 17 perpetrators have committed an act of abominable sexual assault on the disabled girl who was below 12 years. The way in which the crime was reported to have been committed by the perpetrators prima facie appear to be a despicable act of giving vent to their carnal desire leading to commit horrendous sexual assault on the hapless victim girl.”

“The alleged act of perpetrators, to put it appropriately, is outrageously inhuman, wickedly laced with unalloyed perversion of the inconceivable kind. Such crimes in society need to be viewed secretly in order to save the children from the predatory sexual instinct of such men in society. Each one of such men, if found guilty, is the evil personified, possessed with depraved and malevolent mind,” the judge added.