Srinagar, June 26 (JKNS): A Special Fast Track Court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in Srinagar has sentenced a husband and wife to 20 years of simple imprisonment each after convicting them in a 2021 case involving the sexual assault of a minor girl.
The court also imposed fines on both convicts, directing that the amount be paid to the victim.
As per details available with news agency JKNS, the Fast Track Court for POCSO cases, presided over by Judge Umi Kulsoom, convicted Muhammad Arif Waza and his wife Zubaida under provisions of the POCSO Act and the IPC.
The court sentenced Muhammad Arif Waza to 20 years of simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1.80 lakh after holding him guilty of penetrative sexual assault under Sections 3/4(2) of the POCSO Act and Section 376 IPC. He was also awarded 10 years’ imprisonment under Section 376 IPC.
Zubaida was convicted for abetting penetrative sexual assault under Sections 3/4(2) read with Section 17 of the POCSO Act and Section 109 read with Section 376 IPC. She was sentenced to 20 years of simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 50,000, besides 10 years’ imprisonment under Section 376 IPC.
The court ordered that all sentences would run concurrently. It further directed that the fines imposed on both convicts be paid to the victim. In case of default, Waza will undergo an additional six months’ imprisonment, while Zubaida will face one month’s additional imprisonment.
The court also directed that the period already spent in custody by the convicts, including the remand period, shall be set off against the sentence awarded.
According to the prosecution, the minor victim had been sent to the couple’s residence at Aloochi Bagh in August 2021 to learn embroidery. The case came to light after the victim’s father recorded a telephone conversation in which Waza allegedly made incriminating remarks. Upon questioning, the girl disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted during her stay, following which an FIR was registered at Shergari Police Station.
During investigation, police seized the complainant’s mobile phone containing the recorded conversation, collected blood-stained articles from the scene, recorded the victim’s statement under Section 164 CrPC, and secured medical and forensic reports. The prosecution also relied on DNA evidence and electronic records during the trial.
In its judgment, the court rejected the defence’s challenge to the admissibility of the recorded conversation, holding that the electronic evidence corroborated the prosecution’s case. It observed that although the medical examination did not establish recent sexual intercourse, it did not rule out an earlier sexual assault and had to be considered alongside the victim’s testimony and other evidence.
Holding that the prosecution had proved the charges beyond reasonable doubt and that the accused had failed to rebut the statutory presumptions under the POCSO Act, the court convicted and sentenced both accused accordingly. (JKNS)
