Thane court sentences man to 7 years RI in POCSO case

Representation image. File pic

A court in Maharashtra's Thane district sentenced a man to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl. The accused had sexually assaulted the girl at different places between June 2017 and October 2018 and both of them lived in Bhayandar near Mumbai city.

As per PTI report, additional sessions judge A S Bhagwat convicted the accused Amit Mahendra Rajbhar (31) of charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The accused was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 was imposed on him. The copy of the order passed on April 2 was made available on Saturday.

Additional public prosecutor V G Kadu informed the court that the victim and the accused lived in the same locality in Bhayandar and knew each other. The accused sexually assaulted the girl at different places between June 2017 and October 2018, and he also threatened to kill her father if she told anyone about the abuse, he said, reported PTI.

As per the report, a case was registered in October 2018, and the accused was arrested. The judge in his order held that the prosecution has proved charges under section 3 of the POCSO Act, but did not prove the charges of rape and other sections of the POCSO and IT Act in the FIR.

Nine prosecution witnesses, including the victim and four police officers, were examined in the case.

Meanwhile in another case, the Delhi High Court has said that when a woman makes a reasoned choice to establish physical relations, consent cannot be said to be based on misconception unless there is clear evidence of a false promise of marriage.

According to a PTI report, Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta made the observation while quashing a rape case against a man after noting that the matter has been amicably settled between him and the woman and they have now got married to each other.

(With PTI inputs)