Ghaziabad Court Delivers 10-Year Sentence in Child Sexual Assault Case
A special court in Ghaziabad on Friday handed down a significant verdict, sentencing a 74-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl at a local creche in 2016. The court also imposed a substantial fine of Rs 2 lakh, directing that the entire amount be paid directly to the survivor for her ongoing treatment and comprehensive rehabilitation.
Details of the Conviction and Legal Proceedings
Additional district and sessions judge Deepika Tiwary convicted Arun Kumar Sinha, a resident of Chhapra district in Bihar, under Section 5/6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act for the grave crime of aggravated penetrative sexual assault. The court ruled that the time Sinha has already spent in judicial custody will be duly adjusted against his sentence, ensuring proper legal accounting.
The case dates back to 2016 when the minor victim, then in kindergarten, was regularly left at the creche because both her parents returned late from work. The creche was operated by the convict's own daughter-in-law, adding a layer of betrayal to the offense. On January 4, 2016, the girl expressed strong reluctance to return to the creche while being brought home and confided in her father about what she described as the "dirty acts" perpetrated by Sinha. Her father promptly filed a formal police complaint on January 12, initiating the legal process.
Police Investigation and Court Proceedings
Police registered a comprehensive case under sections 376 (rape) and 377 (unnatural offence) of the Indian Penal Code, alongside Section 5/6 of the Pocso Act. A chargesheet was filed on February 19, 2016, and the special Pocso court formally framed charges on August 29 of the same year. During the trial, the prosecution presented five key witnesses, including the survivor's father, the minor victim herself, the examining doctor, and police investigators. The defense countered by examining two witnesses in support of Sinha's claim that he was at his native place in Bihar when the assault allegedly occurred.
Survivor's Testimony Deemed Crucial and Credible
The court placed the greatest evidentiary weight on the testimony of the survivor, who is now a Class 10 student. The minor provided a detailed account of the assault and further stated that the accused had committed similar acts with other children at the creche, including his own granddaughter. Her account maintained remarkable consistency across her initial statement to police, her subsequent statement before a magistrate, and her detailed deposition in court during the trial.
Accepting her as a "sterling witness"—a stringent legal standard applied when a victim's account is found sufficiently reliable to sustain a conviction without additional corroboration—the court noted that cross-examination by the defense failed to raise any material contradiction that could undermine her credibility. The court also found no contradiction between the accounts of the survivor and her father regarding the identity of the accused, the specific nature of the act, or the circumstances in which it occurred.
Legal Principles and Prosecution's Argument
Special public prosecutor Sanjeev Bakharva emphasized that the judgment powerfully underlined a well-established legal principle: a credible and consistent statement by a survivor is sufficient to establish guilt, even when a medical report might be inconclusive. "When the statement of the survivor is credible, there is no requirement of a medical report to establish aggravated penetrative sexual assault," he stated, highlighting the victim-centric approach of the Pocso Act.
Under Section 5(d) of the Pocso Act, penetrative sexual assault is classified as aggravated when committed by a person in a position of trust or authority over the child, which explicitly includes a caretaker. The court conclusively held that the prosecution had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Sinha, occupying such a position, committed the offense, and sentenced him accordingly to serve the full term of imprisonment.
