‘Sexual assault’ case on father to save mother
DOMESTIC DISPUTE 17yrold tells court her father used to beat up her mother, so she filed case in hope police would take some action The children and wife of the accused were being abused by the accused both physically, verbally and emotionally, if not sexually, as alleged by the prosecutrix (girl) initially. The sheer helplessness of the daughter ... drove her to level allegations ... against her own father. KAVERI BAWEJA, additional sessions judge
NEW DELHI: The plight of her mother allegedly getting beaten up by her abusive father drove a 17-year-old girl to file a false molestation case against him, hoping that police would take some action.
The girl decided to file the complaint against her father after learning at a workshop in school that molestation cases are taken seriously. The man would allegedly beat his wife in a drunken state and police were not taking action against him despite repeated complaints.
“From the facts of the present case, it emerges that the children and wife of the accused were being abused by the accused both physically, verbally and emotionally, if not sexually, as alleged by the prosecutrix (girl) initially. The sheer helplessness of the daughter on seeing the plight of her mother drove her to level allegations of molestation against her own father, in the hope that they would receive some respite upon intervention of the police,” additional sessions judge Kaveri Baweja said in a judgment dated February 19.
The man was acquitted of the charges of molestation under the IPC and sexual harassment under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, but held guilty under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The father has been released on probation with a direction to maintain good conduct for one year on a bond of ₹25,000 with a surety of the like amount.
“It must be borne in mind that the child gathered courage to approach the police and deposed about the sufferings of herself and her mother and truthfully stated to the court the actual reason for levelling serious allegations of molestation against her father,” the court said.
The prosecution had said the girl had been molested and threatened by her father on the night of August 15, 2015. However, during the proceedings before the court, she resiled from her statement and deposed that her father was abusive and used to beat her mother in a drunken state and the police were not taking any action against him.
The mother of the girl deposed on similar lines and said that on August 15, 2015, when her husband was heavily drunk and was beating her, her daughter came there and pushed him, following which he abused both of them.
During the trial, the accused had denied the allegations and claimed he was falsely implicated as his daughter was disturbed by the dispute between him and his wife.