Death sentence in Pocso case referred to HC

Madurai: The death sentence imposed on a man by the trial court for sexually assaulting five minor girls in Sivaganga district was referred to Madras high court for confirmation on Wednesday. A division bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh and Justice K K Ramakrishnan posted the referred trial case for hearing on June 4.

The convict, a 45-year-old daily wage labourer, has a son and a daughter. His daughter, who was married, gave birth to a child and was residing in his house. A minor girl, who was his neighbor, used to visit his house to play with his grandchild. When his wife had gone to leave her daughter and grandchild at her in-law’s house, he had invited the minor girl to his house to play with his mobile phone. He offered her snacks and money, and sexually assaulted her.

He went on to sexually assault four more girls aged below 10 on various occasions between 2023 and 2024. The incident came to light when one of the victims, after attending an awareness programme on ‘good touch bad touch’ at her school, informed her teachers about their experience. In Feb 2024, the All Women Police registered a case for offences under Sections of Pocso Act and subsequently arrested the accused. After concluding investigation, police filed the final report before the trial court.

On April 24, the special court for exclusive trial of cases under Pocso Act in Sivaganga convicted and imposed death sentence on the man. The court also directed the state govt to pay a compensation of Rs 7lakh each to the victims.