The court affirmed that a victim's testimony can suffice for conviction in sexual assault cases, emphasizing the heinous nature of the crime and the mandatory minimum sentence under the POCSO Act.

JUDGMENT :

M. Choudhury, J

The instant criminal appeal from Jail under Section 383, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [‘the CrPC’ or ‘the Code’, for short] is preferred to assail a Judgment and Order dated 01.02.2022 passed by the Court of learned Special Judge, POCSO, Golaghat [‘the Special Court’, for short] in Special [POCSO] Case no. 32/2020. By the Judgment and Order dated 01.02.2022, the accused-appellant has been convicted for the offence under Section 6, Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences [POCSO] Act, 2012. For finding him guilty of the charge of committing the offence of aggravated penetrative sexual assault on his own minor daughter [hereinafter referred to as ‘the victim’, at places, for easy reference], the accused-appellant has been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for a period of twenty years and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/-, in default of payment of fine, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of another three months. It has been ordered that the period undergone by the accused-appellant in custody shall be set-off from the total period of sentence imposed against him.

2. The investigation was set into motion on institution of a First Information Report [FIR] by the mother [P.W.8] of the victim [P.W.7] before the Officer In-Charge, Bogijan Police Station on 06.07.2020. In the FIR, the informant [P.W.8] reported that she being a permanent employee of Bogijan Tea Estate, used to go for her works in the morning and return home in the afternoon. The informant [P.W.8] had inter alia stated that at around 03-00 p.m. on 06.07.2020, she was giving bath to her daughter, aged 9 years. At that time, the daughter informed her that she was feeling pain in her vagina and blood was coming out of it. On being so informed, the informant [P.W.8] examined the vagina of her daughter and noticed that blood was coming out of it and it had become red and swollen. On making query, the daughter informed her that her father had committed sexual assault on her in the evening hours on 04.07.2020.

3. On receipt of the FIR [Ext.-2] at 05-10 p.m. on 06.07.2020, the Officer In-Charge, Bogijan Police Station registered the same as Bogijan Police Station Case no. 31/2020 [corresponding G.R. Case no. 720/2020] for the offences under Section 376AB, Indian Penal Code [IPC] r/w Section 4, POCSO Act, 2012 and took up the investigation of the case as its Investigating Officer [I.O.]. Prior to lodging of the FIR [Ext.-2] by the informant [P.W.8], the Officer In-Charge, Bogijan Police Station received a telephonic information from a resident of Natun Line, Bogijan Tea Estate - P.W.2 to the effect that the local people of Natun Line, Bogijan Tea Estate had kept the accused tied up on an allegation that he had allegedly sexually assaulted his minor daughter and a lot of people had gathered at the place. On receipt of the said information, the I.O. [P.W.9] registered the information as Bogijan Police Station General Diary Entry no. 94 dated 06.07.2020 [Ext.-1-1] at 04-10 p.m. and proceeded to the spot with support staff.

4. After recording the General Diary Entry no. 94 [Ext.-1-1], the I.O. [P.W.9] visited the spot and took the accused into custody after preliminary enquiry. Thereafter, the I.O. [P.W.9] took the accused with him to the Police Station. Subsequently on the same day, that is, on 06.07.2020, the informant [P.W.8] lodged the FIR [Ext.-2] with the afore-stated allegations. On receipt of the FIR [Ext.-2], it was registered as Bogijan Police Station Case no. 31/2020 and investigation ensued. During the course of investigation, the I.O. [P.W.9] visited the Place of Occurrence [P.O.] on 06.07.2020 and drew a Sketch Map of the P.O. [Ext.-3]. The I.O. [P.W.9] also recorded the statements of the available witnesses under Section 161, CrPC. On the following day, the victim was forwarded to Swahid Kushal Konwar Civil Hospital, Golaghat for her medical examination and accordingly, the victim [P.W.7] was medically examined by the Medical & Healt