Varanasi: A special Pocso court in Varanasi on Thursday sentenced a juvenile offender, tried as an adult, to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in a case involving the rape of a four-year-old girl.Special Judge (Pocso Act) and additional district and sessions judge Nitin Pandey pronounced the judgment in a 2021 case registered at Lalpur/Pandeypur police station. The court held the juvenile offender guilty under Section 376AB of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 5(m)/6 of the Pocso Act.According to special public prosecutor Santosh Kumar Singh, the case was registered on March 26, 2021, based on a complaint filed by the survivor’s father. The prosecution stated that the 16-year-old accused had lured the child on the pretext of giving her toffees and sexually assaulted her.Considering the seriousness of the offence, the Juvenile Justice Board had conducted a preliminary assessment and found that the juvenile possessed the mental and intellectual capacity to understand the nature and consequences of the alleged crime. The board accordingly ordered that he be tried as an adult before the Children’s Court/Pocso court.During the trial, the prosecution examined six witnesses, including the girl’s parents, medical officer, investigating officer and the FIR writer. The court held that the witness testimonies and medical evidence established the offence beyond reasonable doubt.While delivering the sentence, the court referred to Section 21 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, which bars the imposition of the death penalty or life imprisonment without the possibility of release on a juvenile. The court, however, observed that given the gravity of the offence, the maximum permissible punishment was warranted.The court sentenced the juvenile offender to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 40,000. It further directed that the primary responsibility for payment of the fine would lie with the juvenile’s natural guardians. Half of the fine amount will be paid to the survivor as compensation.The court also directed the district probation officer to prepare an individual care plan for the rehabilitation of the juvenile offender.
