Man gets 20 years RI for marrying a child and sexually assaulting her

A special court handling POCSO Act cases in Kalaburagi has sentenced a 25-year-old man to 20 years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a total fine of ₹15,000 on him for contracting a child marriage and committing repeated sexual offences against a minor girl, resulting in the birth of a child.

In the same case, the parents of the victim and the parents of the accused have been each sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment and asked to pay ₹5,000 fine for facilitating child marriage which is illegal.

According to the prosecution, the offence occurred within the limits of Aland Police in Kalaburagi district.

The accused, Nitin Pawar of Gullolli Tanda, married the victim when she was 16 years old on May 17, 2023, at a marriage hall on the outskirts of Aland town, with the active involvement of both the families.

The prosecution stated that the minor was subsequently subjected to repeated sexual exploitation at the accused’s residence, leading to the birth of a male child, now six months old.

The prosecution established that the offences were committed over a period of time, while the parents of both families knowingly cooperated in arranging and enabling the child marriage.

Charges were framed under Section 376(2)(n) of the IPC, Sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Sections 9 and 10 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

After examining evidence and witness testimonies, the special court, Additional District and Sessions Court, presided over by judge Mohamed Mujeer Ulla C.G., found the accused guilty on all counts.

The court sentenced the accused to 20 years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹10,000 under the IPC and POCSO Act provisions, and an additional one year of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of ₹5,000 under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

Failure to pay fine will attract additional imprisonment, the court said.

The parents of both the parties were convicted under Section 10 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment each, along with fine of ₹5,000.

The case was investigated by Inspector Sharanabasappa of Kodla Police Station, while court proceedings were coordinated by constable Rajkumar of Aland Police Station.

The prosecution was carried out by Special Public Prosecutor Shanthaveer B. Tuppad who represented the State during trial.