A Delhi Court has sentenced a 35-year-old school van driver to seven-year rigorous imprisonment for committing aggravated sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl.
The court’s rationale behind this sentence is to dissuade other individuals with similar intentions from engaging in such heinous acts. The court emphasized that the severity of the crime is not solely determined by the length of the punishment but rather by its impact on societal perception and public order.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Susheel Bala Dagar was hearing a case against Anuj, who was convicted under Section 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The prosecution revealed that Anuj, the driver of the victim’s school van, perpetrated aggravated sexual assault on the young girl and even went to the extent of threatening her with harm if she dared to disclose his actions to her family.
ASJ Dagar asserted that there was no justification for leniency in this case, especially considering that Anuj, who had his own children, committed this “disgusting assault” on the child he had been driving to school for five years since the incident occurred.
Deliberating on the circumstances, including the gravity of the offense, the age of the child victim and the convict, their respective family situations, and the social and economic factors influencing them, the court passed a verdict sentencing Anuj to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for the offense defined under Section 10 of the POCSO Act.
The court characterized the convict’s actions as a “ridiculous form of enjoyment” for him, but a source of immense mental anguish for the victim, who was alone with Anuj in the van at the time of the incident. The court pointed out that offenders like Anuj often fail to comprehend that their actions violate a child’s fundamental right to privacy of their body, depriving them of the security they should expect in such settings.
In this particular case, the minor victim had been entrusted to the school van, where the driver held a position of trust and confidence. The court stressed that a zero-tolerance approach to crimes against children is imperative, emphasizing that the gravity of the offense transcends the punishment’s length, affecting societal attitudes and public order.
The court underscored that those who derive “enjoyment” from such acts often disregard the profound impact on a child’s well-being. In the court’s words, the convict’s sentence should serve as a deterrent to like-minded individuals in society, discouraging them from committing similar offenses.
The court acknowledged that the victim had suffered aggravated sexual assault, enduring both mental and physical trauma, which had caused significant humiliation to her and her family. As a result, the court awarded the victim a compensation of Rs 3 lakh, recognizing the need for financial support to address the grave impact on her mental, physical, and emotional well-being caused by this distressing incident.
