The Allahabad High Court recently lamented about the rise of child sexual abuse cases in India, while denying bail to a man accused of raping a thirteen-year-old girl. (Jasman Singh v. State of UP)
Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh remarked that although little girls are worshiped in our country, the cases of pedophilia are increasing.
"In this case, a small innocent girl has been raped, who does not understand its meaning. Little girls are worshiped in our country, but the cases of pedophilia are increasing. Rape is a heinous crime. The victim suffers from psychological effects of embarrassment, disgust, depression, guilt and even suicidal tendencies. Many cases go unreported. In almost rape cases, the victim was unwilling to report the name of the abuser" the Court said
The Court observed further that small children who experience sexual abuse even once tend to be more vulnerable to abuse in adult life and that the healing process can be slow and systematic.
Rejecting the bail plea, the High Court added that if the right decision is not taken from the Court at the right time, then the trust of victims and the common man will not be left in the judicial system.
"In such a situation, if the right decision is not taken from the Court at the right time, then the trust of a victim/common man will not be left in the judicial system. This is the time to strictly stop this kind of crime", stated the order.
The bail application was moved by Jasman Singh, who was charged under Sections 323, 376(2)(1), 452 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act).
The prosecution told the Court that the incident took place in January 2019, when the thirteen-year-old victim was alone at home.
The accused is stated to have taken advantage of the situation, forcibly entered the house and threatened to kill the victim. He is further alleged of having dragged the victim inside a room by her hair and forcibly committed rape on her.
The victim is stated to have been found lying unconscious and naked when her family came home. The accused alleged tried to flee by climbing a wall, but was caught hold of at the spot.
Denying these allegations, the accused submitted that there was love affair going on between the victim and himself and that she had called him herself. It was also alleged that there was a dispute between the victim's family and the accused regarding some land, owing to which he was falsely implicated in the case.
The Court, however, found that nothing had been presented to support the claim made by the accused regarding the alleged land dispute.
The State further informed that the victim's age has been found to be thirteen-years following medical examination. The Additional Government Advocate stood by the prosecution's version that the accused had forcibly raped the victim before he was apprehended by her family. It was also submitted that the victim had alleged that the accused had raped her in her statement to the police.
Coupled with this, the Court also took critical note of the accused having a history of six criminal cases, as opposed to an averment in his bail plea that he had no criminal antecedents. The accused had not come with clean hands to the Court, the Judge therefore observed.
Referring to a doctor's report the Court added,
"... in the opinion of the doctor, who conducted the medical examination of the victim, sign of violence seen and sexual violence cannot be ruled out. The offence of committing rape upon a minor child is heinous in nature."
In view of these factors and the gravity of the alleged crime, the Court proceeded to dismiss the bail application.