Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Bombay High Court's Nagpur Bench Upholds 10-Year Term, Says Any Penetration of a Minor Is Rape

The court clarified that punishment must follow the statute in force when the 2014 offence occurred.

Overview

  • Justice Nivedita Mehta ruled that the offence is complete upon any insertion, making consent legally irrelevant for minors under POCSO.
  • The bench dismissed the Hinganghat driver's appeal and maintained 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and a ₹50,000 fine for attempted aggravated penetrative sexual assault of girls aged five and six.
  • Sentencing was affirmed under the unamended law because the 2019 POCSO enhancements do not apply to an offence committed in 2014.
  • The court found consistent testimony from the survivors and their mother credible, supported by medical and forensic material despite an examination more than 15 days later showing no injuries.
  • Prosecutors said the accused lured the children with guavas, showed obscene videos, and issued threats, which the court said reasonably explained the delay in filing the FIR.