J U D G M E N T

Index to the Judgment

FACTUAL BACKDROP ........................................................................ 3

SUBMISSIONS BEFORE THE COURT............................................. 7

On behalf of the Appellant...............................................................................7

On behalf of the State..................................................................................... 10

ANALYSIS & FINDINGS ................................................................... 11

Testimonies of Material Witnesses................................................................ 12

Version put forth by the Accused................................................................. 19

Age of the Victim............................................................................................ 20

Whether the offence alleged against the appellant has been proven beyond reasonable doubt?.............................................................................. 20

Sentencing of the Appellant........................................................................... 31

Evil Use of Technology to Outsmart Investigating Agencies ............................. 32

Technology as a Tool for Cyberbullying ........................................................... 33

Mental and Emotional Impact of Cyber Threats on Children.......................... 33

Necessity of Providing Safe Digital Spaces for Children ................................... 34

Lasting Trauma and the Need for Deterrence in Cybercrime Against Children ........................................................................................................ 34

The Decision.................................................................................................... 35

DR. SWARANA KANTA SHARMA, J

1. The appellant has preferred the present appeal to assail the judgment dated 26.03.2024 and the order on sentence dated 02.12.2024 [hereafter ‘impugned judgment and order’], passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge-01, POCSO, North-West, Rohini Courts, Delhi [hereafter ‘Trial Court’] in SC No. 53654/16. The said case arose out of FIR No. 456/2016, registered on 23.09.2016 at Police Station Ashok Vihar, Delhi, for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 354A, 354D, 509 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 [hereafter ‘IPC’] and Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 [hereafter ‘IT Act’].

2. By way of the impugned judgment, the appellant was convicted for offences under Sections 354A(iii), 354D, 509, and 506 of the IPC; Sections 67 and 67B of the IT Act; and Sections 11(v)/12 and 13/14 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 [hereafter ‘POCSO Act’]. Vide the impugned order on sentence, he was awarded sentence of rigorous imprisonment for a period of 03

years for the offence punishable under Section 12 of POCSO; rigorous imprisonment for a period of 01 year for the offence punishable under Section 506 of IPC; rigorous imprisonment for a period of 05 years for the offence punishable under Section 14 of POCSO Act; and rigorous imprisonment for a period of 05 years for the offence punishable under Section 67B of the IT Act. All the sentences were directed to run concurrently.

FACTUAL BACKDROP

3. The prosecution was set in motion pursuant to a complaint dated 22.09.2016 lodged by the mother of the minor victim ‘VG’, a Class IX student. It was alleged that the victim VG had received vulgar and obscene images on her mobile phone, which bore the number 96XXXXX55, through WhatsApp messages sent from mobile number 7834891235. The images were disturbing in nature, i.e. her face had been morphed onto the nude body of another person. Accompanying these images was a threatening message warning that if she did not comply with the sender’s demands, the obscene content would be uploaded on Facebook and circulated over the Internet. Based on this complaint, FIR No. 456/2016 was registered, and investigation c