The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh recently stated that violent crimes against women and children are on the rise, and that courts should not be lenient toward those charged with such crimes.
A single bench of Justice Mohan Lal denied bail to a man who has been imprisoned since June 2021 for raping his neighbor’s 10-year-old daughter.
The bench stated in its order that no woman would jeopardize her character by falsely accusing a man of raping her own minor daughter.
“…rape is the most hated crime in the society which leaves a scar upon the most cherished personality of a victim, and, therefore, no self-respecting woman would normally concoct a story of rape,” the order reads.
The Bench also stated that leniency in cases involving sexual offenses is not only undesirable, but also detrimental in the public interest.
“Courts cannot loose sight of the fact that crime of violence upon women and minor children are on increase and therefore the perpetrators of the crime must be dealt with iron hands…Showing leniency in such matters would be really a case of misplaced sympathy. The act of accused is not only shocking, but outrageous in contours. Granting of bail to him would lead to the danger of the course of justice being thwarted..,” it noted.
According to the single bench, such an act leaves an indelible mark on the victim’s dignity, chastity, honour, and reputation in society, and granting the accused bail would shake the confidence of the general public.
The accused raped the victim while she was filling a water from a nearby tap. He had threatened her not to tell anyone about it. However, she told her parents about the incident a week later, and the accused was arrested as a result. He was charged with violating Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012 (POCSO).
The accused claimed that he was falsely implicated by the victim’s family because the two families were at odds over a civil matter concerning the passage outside their homes.
Justice Mohan Lal pointed out that rape leaves a permanent scar on a woman’s most prized possession and has a serious psychological impact on the victim and her family.
“The prosecutrix would not therefore, have concocted story of rape against the accused to falsely implicate him by putting her honour, character, reputation and her future marriage prospects on stake in the society.”
The single bench in its order noted that the offences charged against the accused would result in imprisonment for the rest of his natural life or a jail term not less than 20 years.
“More severe the punishment is, more are the chances of the accused to abscond during to the trial or flee from justice if released on bail. There is every danger that he will abscond or flee during trial if enlarged on bail,” the bench directed while denying bail to the accused.
