‘This is a heinous crime’…High Court gives important verdict
New Delhi: Bombay High Court has considered the sexual assault of a minor girl by an accused along with his friends as a heinous crime. Also, it said that this crime was committed several times in full consciousness. The court upheld the decision of the Juvenile Justice Board, which ordered the minor to be tried as an adult for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl between 2017-2018. The accused from Yavatmal was a minor at the time of this incident. The bench of Justice GA Sanap said that the accused sexually assaulted the victim several times, which shows his criminal mental state.
Justice Sanap said, ‘Along with exploiting himself, he handed over the victim to others. This is a heinous crime.’ The prosecution said that the victim was studying in class 8. The accused was a student of class 11. Some minors and adults were also included among his friends. They kept giving the victim chocolates laced with intoxicants and sexually exploited her for 10 months. The main accused was a minor and was also a friend of the victim’s brother. He had earlier won her trust by giving her chocolates and gifts. One day he took her to a secluded place and sexually assaulted her.
The main accused and his friends started doing the same thing with the victim again and again. It is alleged that these incidents were also videographed. Also, they kept threatening the victim that if she refused, they would kill her father. There were also threats of making the rape videos viral. However, someone else told the victim’s father about this incident. He lodged an FIR against the accused. On this basis, they were immediately arrested. But, the Juvenile Justice Board granted bail to 4 minors including the main accused. Regarding this, the victim’s father pleaded that the accused be tried as adults.
