The Sikkim High Courthas upheld the conviction of a man for sexual assault under the POCSO Act, sexual harassment, wrongful restraint, and abetment of the suicide of a 17-year-old girl, while expressing grave concern over the mental health of children and calling upon the State to strengthen its mental health framework.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaqueand Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan partly allowed the appeal filed by the accused affirming his conviction but modifying the sentence by setting aside the punishment imposed under Section 354A(2) IPC in view of Section 42 of the POCSO Act and Section 71 IPC, while directing that the remaining sentences run concurrently. The Court also upheld the compensation awarded to the victim’s parents.
According to the prosecution, the 17-year-old victim boarded a taxi reserved by the appellant after returning from school during the COVID-19 lockdown in August 2021. After alighting near a monastery, the appellant allegedly chased her, wrongfully restrained her, and sexually assaulted her. The traumatised victim returned home, wrote a detailed suicide note narrating the incident, and died by suicide later the same day.
The High Court held that the prosecution had established an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence linking the appellant to the offences. It relied upon the victim’s suicide note as a dying declaration under Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act, corroborated by witness testimony, forensic handwriting examination, medical evidence, and surrounding circumstances. The Court observed:
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“We do not have any doubt on the prosecution story and the fact that it was due to the heinous acts of the appellant and the appellant alone that led the victim to commit suicide. There are no gaps in each of the circumstances proved by the prosecution… A solid, unbroken chain of evidence has been established which confirms that it was the appellant who was guilty of the acts for which he has been convicted.”
Concern Over Prison Rehabilitation & Mental Health of Children
In an important epilogue to the judgment, the Bench expressed concern over the effectiveness of prison rehabilitation programmes after noting that the appellant had previously been convicted in another criminal case before committing the present, more heinous, offence. The Court also highlighted the need to address the mental health of children, observing that the victim’s suicide note reflected the emotional trauma suffered by her. It urged the State to adopt a structured and scientifically evaluated approach to child mental health. The Bench observed:
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“we express our deep sense of worry on the issue of mental health of our children after reading the laments of the victim in her suicide note which we hesitate to reproduce here. The mental health of a child, and in this case a girl child, is a matter of serious concern. Although, we are aware that the State is conducting various programs for assuring that the mental health of our citizens are well taken care of, if there is any possibility to do more, the State must not hesitate to take proactive steps at all levels to ensure that the mental health of every child is protected. We draw the attention of the State to the mental health conditions of our children both in the rural as well as in the urban areas. We implore it to take not only substantive measures but have a structured plan keeping in mind that the healthy mind of a child is paramount for the growth of our State and our Country at large. There must be a process of scientific evaluation of the working of these schemes on a periodic basis. We say no further.”
With these observations, the High Court directed that a copy of the judgment be forwarded to the Court of the Special Judge along with the trial records. It further ordered that copies of the judgment be sent to the Additional Director General of Police, State Central Prisons, and the Chief Secretary to the Government of Sikkim for necessary action
