The Bombay High Court upheld a five-year prison sentence for a former Lieutenant Colonel convicted of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl, emphasizing the victim’s clear understanding of inappropriate touch.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has refused to quash the court martial order sentencing a former Lieutenant Colonel to five years’ imprisonment for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl, stating that the victim was fully aware of the “bad touch.”
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale noted on Monday that the girl’s courtroom demonstration of the accused’s behavior after her father left the room was depicted with immense clarity. The bench dismissed the petition filed by the accused, challenging the January 2024 order of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), which confirmed the General Court Martial (GCM) decision.
The GCM found the accused guilty in March 2021 of aggravated sexual assault and sexual harassment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He was sentenced to the minimum punishment of five years’ imprisonment.
The former Army officer argued in his plea that he had no ill intention, claiming his actions were out of “grandfatherly/fatherly” love. However, the High Court rejected this claim, stating that the victim’s instinct in identifying a bad touch must be believed.
The victim firmly denied any suggestion that the accused’s touch was innocent. The court observed that the accused met the girl for the first time and had no reason to hold her hand, touch her thigh, or request a kiss.
“The girl immediately sensed a bad touch and reported it to her father instantly,”
the bench noted, affirming the GCM and AFT findings. The court ruled that there was no violation of the accused’s fundamental rights and found no errors in the decision-making process.
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As per the complaint, the accused, in February 2020, touched the girl’s thigh and asked for a kiss. The girl immediately informed her father, leading to the lodging of a complaint. The HC concluded that her consistent testimony and courtroom demonstration provided clear evidence against the accused.
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