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Delhi's Tis Hazari Court has recently convicted a man for repeatedly raping and impregnating his minor stepdaughter in 2019.
The court noted that a Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) was also conducted in May 2019 and as per the bone ossification report, the age of the victim was between 15 and 16 years at the time of the incident. MTP is a legalized method of termination of pregnancy, intentionally, before its full term. It is also known as induced abortion or intentional or voluntary termination of pregnancy. This case pertains to the area in the West District of Delhi. Additional Sessions Judge Babita Puniya convicted the man after analysing the evidence which established that accused raped his stepdaughter repeatedly. A case was registered against the man under penal sections related to rape and section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. "I am of the view that the prosecution has established the commission of aggravated penetrative sexual assault upon the victim not only by medical and scientific evidence but also by oral evidence of the victim which is duly corroborated by her mother and maternal aunt," the court said in the judgement passed on April 10. While convicting the accused the court said that it had been established that the accused, the step-father of the victim living in the same house with her, committed penetrative sexual assault on the victim more than once, as a result of which she became pregnant and medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) was done on May 15, 2019. They rejected the argument of counsel for the accused that the victim had not stated the specific dates. ASJ Puniya remarked, "I consider it unfair to expect a child victim of aggravated penetrative sexual assault to remember every date of such assault. Merely because she could not tell the exact date when she was sexually assaulted by her step-father does not make her an untrustworthy or untruthful or unreliable witness." The judge, during the hearing, considered the medical evidence and statement of the prosecutrix and said, "I find that her evidence has a ring of truth. Despite her young age, the victim's evidence was consistent and clear. Her evidence was supported not only by her mami and mother but by independent medical and forensic evidence." (ANI)
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