HC upholds trial court’s judgement, junks convict’s plea

SHILLONG, April 19: The division bench of the Meghalaya High Court has upheld the judgement of a trial court which was challenged before the former by the convict.
The trial court had, under POCSO Act, awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment to and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on a man for raping a minor.
It is pertinent to note that the victim, who around 13 to 14 years old when the crime came to pass, was raped by the husband of her mother’s younger sister in April 2014.
The High Court has now junked the appellant’s plea and extended his imprisonment by six more months.
In its order, the division bench said there is no merit in the appellant’s appeal and that the trial court’s judgement does not suffer from any legal infirmity.
“In the light of the overwhelming material against the appellant and no attempt on the appellant’s part to set up or establish an alibi, the trial court has quite appropriately found the appellant guilty and awarded due punishment therefor,” the High Court said.
“The entire gamut of the evidence was taken into consideration by the trial court before arriving at a just conclusion. The judgment of conviction and order sentencing the appellant to imprisonment and fine do not call for any interference,” it added.