Life term awarded to man for sexually assaulting biological daughter by Gujarat POCSO court

A special POCSO court in Mehsana district on Wednesday awarded ‘life imprisonment till the last breath’ to a 45-year-old man for raping his 15-year-old biological daughter multiple times. 

The court delivered the verdict by quoting Nelson Mandela, saying, “Safety and security don’t just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment.”

The court of Special POCSO Judge, Mehsana, Sarang Kale, stated that the case fell under the ambit of heinous crimes and added, “The accused has committed rape on his daughter. If a man with such a mentality (is) allowed to live in society, no girl or lady will be safe. So the accused must be subjected the maximum punishment in terms of sentence, i.e., imprisonment for life till the last breath.” The court also imposed a fine of ₹15,000 on the convict.

The FIR in the case was lodged in April 2024, while charges were framed in June, and the trial started on July 18 last year. 

As per the arguments put forth by Mehsana district government pleader V B Barot, the victim’s mother, who is the man’s wife, had approached the police in April 2024 after the younger sibling of the victim informed her about their father ‘dragging the elder sister to the upper floor and locking the room’.

The victim then confided in her mother that her father had allegedly forced himself on her more than seven times and also often showed her objectionable videos.

The prosecution told the court that the victim told the complainant that the accused had threatened to kill her and family to prevent her from alerting her mother. The prosecution case further said that as the complainant was driving her two daughters to work the next day, the accused called and demanded that she return quickly, threatening to kill them all. The complainant then went to Bharuch to one of their relatives’ homes before returning to Mehsana two days later to file the complaint.

The accused was charged under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, 506(1) (criminal intimidation), 376(3) (rape on a woman under 16 years of age), and BNS Sections [376(2)(f)(n)] (rape by a relative, guardian, or person in a position of trust; multiple rape on the same victim).

The victim was also awarded ₹5 lakh in compensation by the court through the Gujarat Victim Compensation Fund.