JUDGMENT :

K.Vinod Chandran, J.

It is moral depravity of the worst kind when teachers stoop down to the level of lecherous deviants to molest their students. In the case we are dealing with, we have an allegation of a teacher in a Sunday School, where moral and religious education is imparted, having committed repeated rape on his student, a minor child. Worst still, the defence is that it was another teacher in the same Sunday School who committed the atrocious act, who also stands convicted in another proceeding. We can only look up to the Good Lord and lament: 'Heaven forbid'. But in this world, we are called upon to decide, whether the conviction was proper and if we affirm it, as to the correctness of handing down the harshest sentence, the legislature prescribes.

2. The allegation was of repeated rape and the offences charged were under S.376 (2)(i) & (n) of the Indian Penal Code [for brevity, 'the IPC'], S.5(f) &(l) read with S.6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 [for brevity, 'the POCSO Act']. The repeated commission of the offence was found against the prosecution. On the single instance, upon which the First Information Statement (FIS) was register