Indore: The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently observed that juvenile offenders in the country are being treated too leniently and that the legislature has still not learned any lessons from the horrors of the 2012 Nirbhaya case.
HC was hearing an appeal filed by a juvenile sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old minor girl
Justice Subodh Abhyankar observed this while upholding the conviction and sentence to a juvenile, who fled from an observation home with seven other juveniles, for sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl in 2017.
“This Court is once again at pains to observe that juveniles in this country are being treated rather too leniently, and that the legislature to the utter misfortune of the victims of such crimes, has still not learnt any lessons from the horrors of Nirbhaya,” the High Court said.
The trial court awarded ten years of rigorous imprisonment under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Penal Code for sexually assaulting the minor girl living with her parents on rent at the house of the parents of the juvenile. The trial court in its order in May 2019 said that the juvenile should be sent to prison after attaining the age of 21 years.
Juvenile fled from observation home with 7 other juveniles and is still untraceable, High Court was informed
The High Court during the hearing of the appeal of the juvenile, filed through his father, was informed that the present appellant was juvenile at the time of his conviction and he was sent to the juvenile observation home from where he absconded on November 13, 2019 along with 7 other such juveniles, who were also lodged in the same home, and till date he is not traceable.
Juvenile is presently at large, probably lurking in some dark corner of street, for yet another prey, and there is nobody to stop him: High Court
“Looking to the overwhelming medical evidence available in the present case, it does not taken an expert to see as to how demonic the appellant’s conduct was while he was juvenile, and his mindset can also be gathered from the fact that he has also absconded from the observation home, and presently is at large, probably lurking in some dark corner of the street, for yet another prey, and there is nobody to stop him.” the High Court said.
“Although such voices are being raised time and again by the Constitutional courts of this country, but to the utter dismay of the victims, they have not been able to make any impact on the legislature even after a decade of Nirbhaya which took place in the year 2012,” the High Court said while while dismissing the appeal and directing a copy of the order be sent to the Law Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Government of India.
