Parental responsibility includes safeguarding children, and offenses against minors warrant severe penalties under child protection laws.

JUDGMENT

M.JOTHIRAMAN, J.

The sole accused in Crime No.9/2016 on the file of the respondent herein is the appellant herein. This Criminal Appeal has been filed challenging the judgment of conviction and sentenced dated 12.02.2019 in Spl.SC.No.64 of 2016 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Magalir Needhimandram, Salem, in and by which the appellant was convicted under sections 4 and 10 of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 [ in short “POCSO Act”] and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- in default to undergo 6 months simple imprisonment for the offence under Section 4 of POCSO Act and sentenced to undergo 7 years imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- in default to undergo 6 months simple imprisonment for the offence under Section 10 of the POCSO Act.

2. Facts leading to the filing of this appeal are as follows:

2.1. The accused Saravanan, who belongs to Thagapatti Village, Salem, married one Thangammal. Out of wedlock, he begot two female children and one male child. Subsequently, he married one Sasikala and he changed the name of Sasikala as Sagunthala and lived in various places in Salem like Thagapatty, Linemedu and Maniyanoor. The accused and Sagunthala have four children namely, XXX / PW2, YYY / PW3, Kousika and Hariharan. All the children left the accused and staying in Children Protection and Welfare Home.

2.2. The accused used to come to home daily in drunken manner and when the same was questioned by his wife and children, he used to beat them. Therefore, misunderstanding arose between the husband and wife and during November, 2015, the accused's wife, left the female children XXX/ PW2 and YYY / PW3 with the accused and went by taking other children with her. Thereafter, the accused and his two female children shifted to a rental premises belonging to one Raju. While that being so, the accused /father attempted to give sexual harassment to his 16 years old female child XXX / PW2. In further continuance, the accused also gave sexual harassment to her younger daughter YYY / PW3, who is 13 years old, by pressing his breast and also done gave forceful insertion of his fingers over her private parts. The accused further threatened PW2 with dire consequences if she says the sexual assault done on her to anybody.

2.3. PW1 – Tmt.Gandhimathi is a working member of the Salem Kumarapatti Children Welfare Organization. On 22.04.2014, through Erode Children Welfare Organization, the two female children namely Madhubala and Kausik @ Kausalya were produced and allowed to stay in the Salem Children Welfare Organization. They informed the President of the Organization that they also have one brother the sister, based on which YYY/ PW3 and Hariharan were take into safe custody from a home at Nethimedu. Sangeetha also gave information that her elder sister XXX/ PW2 is residing along with her father at Thathagapatti, based on which nearly after ten days, Annadanampatti police found XXX / PW2.

2.4. On enquiry, PW2 informed about the forceful sexual penetration done by her father Saravanan and also the same atrocious immoral activities done on her sister YYY/ PW3. On enquiry, PW3 also reiterated the very same version of her sister / PW2. The three female children and one male child were given education by keeping them under safe custody in Children Welfare Homes.

2.5. PW1 gave complaint under Ex.P1 to All Women Police Station, Salem, based on which the police enquired PWs.2 and 3 in the presence of witnesses Mageswari / PW4, who is working as Office Assistant and Typist and one Suguna, in which they narrated the sexual assault done on them by their father Saravanan to the police of