Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Oct 9: High Court today awarded six years imprisonment and penalised a teacher for sexual assault on a minor student.
Shabir Ahmad Naik of Ramban working as a teacher in an educational trust in Srinagar had approached the court to challenge the judgment of fast track court (Srinagar) whereby he was sentenced to 7-year imprisonment and Rs 25,000 fine for commission of sexual assault upon the minor student.
Justice Rajnesh Oswal said the prosecution has also successfully proved that the act of the appellant-Naik which squarely falls under POCSO Act, as the accused-Naik being teacher committed an offence of sexual assault upon the minor student of Alfallah Habibullah Educational Trust, Rangpura, Srinagar who was less than 12 years of age.
“This court has gone through the judgment passed by the trial court. The trial court has very meticulously dealt with the issues and has rightly arrived at a conclusion in respect of guilt of the appellant. In fact, in view of cogent and reliable evidence led by the prosecution, there was only one course available before the trial court and that was to convict the appellant”, Justice Oswal concluded.
The court however has commuted the sentence from 7 years to 6 years with fine as imposed by the trial court shall remain the same. The judgment of conviction dated 07.06.2024 of appellant arising out of FIR. No. 107/2021 of P/S Zakoora, Srinagar, is upheld. However, the order of sentence dated 07.06.2024 passed by the Fast Track Court for POCSO Cases, Srinagar, is modified to the extent that instead of simple imprisonment for 7 years, the appellant shall undergo simple imprisonment for 6 years. The fine component of the sentence shall remain the same, read the judgment
“The minimum sentence prescribed under section-10 of the POCSO Act, is imprisonment for 5 years, whereas the maximum sentence prescribed is 7 years of imprisonment, with fine. Though the appellant deserves no sympathy as he has committed a heinous offence but equally true is that he is not having criminal antecedents, therefore, this court is of the considered view that the sentence of 7 years imprisonment awarded to the appellant deserves to be reduced to simple imprisonment for six years, to secure the ends of justice”, Justice Oswal recorded.
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