1 2025:CGHC:20243 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR CRA No. 1932 of 2024 1 - Santosh Das Mahant S/o Late Pardeshi Das Mahant Aged About 28 Years R/o Near Ganesh Chowk, Patharripara, Police Station Civil Line Rampur, Korba, District : Korba, Chhattisgarh ... Appellant(s) versus 1 - State of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station Civil Line Rampur, Korba, District : Korba, Chhattisgarh ... Respondent(s) For Appellant(s) : Mr. Dharmesh Shrivastava, Advocate. For Respondent(s) : Ms. Sunita Sahu, Panel Lawyer. Hon'ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, J. Order on Board 02/05/2025 1. The matter has been listed for orders on non appearance of the appellant on 15.04.2025 and with the consent of the parties the matter has been heard finally. 2. This appeal has been filed by the appellants under Section 415(2) of the BNSS, 2023 against the impugned judgment of conviction and sentence dated 15.10.2024, passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge FTSC POCSO, Korba in Special Case (POCSO) No. 12/2023, whereby the 2 appellant has been convicted for the offence under Section 12 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and sentenced for RI for 06 months with fine of Rs. 5,000/- in default of payment of fine additional RI for 01 month. 3. The brief facts of the case are that on 14.08.2023, the victim PW-1 lodged a written complaint to the police station that the appellant following her since last 2 years whenever she was going to school and shown her intimacy that he is loving her. He threatened also to cooperate with him otherwise he would kill her and he himself would die. Considering the ingredients of sexual harassment in the act of the appellant, the FIR Ex.P/1 was registered against the appellant for the offence under Section 354 (D), 506 of IPC and Section 12 of POCSO Act. During the investigation spot map Ex.P/2 was prepared by the police and Ex.P/3 was prepared by the Patwari. With respect to the age of the victim her birth certificate article A-1 has been seized by the police vide seizure memo Ex.P/5. 4. Statement of the witnesses under Section 161 of Cr.P.C. and statement of the victim under Section 164 of Cr.P.C. was recorded. The appellant have been arrested on 14.08.2023 and after completion of usual investigation charge-sheet was filed before the learned trial Court for the offence under Section 354-D, 506 of IPC and Section 12 of POCSO Act. 5. The learned trial Court has framed charge against the appellant for the offence under Section 354D(2) and 506-II of IPC and Section 12 of POCSO Act. The appellant denied the charge and claimed trial. 6. In order to prove the charge against the appellant, the prosecution has examined as many as 05 witnesses. Statement of the appellant under Section 313 of Cr.P.C. have also been recorded in which he denied the circumstances appears against him, plead innocence and submitted that he has been falsely implicated in the offence. 3 7. After appreciation of oral as well as documentary evidence led by the prosecution, the learned trial Court has convicted the appellant and sentenced him as mentioned in the earlier part of this judgment. Hence this appeal. 8. Learned counsel for the appellant would submit that he is not challenging the conviction part of the judgment but challenging the sentence as there is no minimum sentence provided for the offence under Section 12 of POCSO Act, total 06 months RI has been awarded against the appellant for the offence under Section 12 of POCSO Act. The appellant remained in jail for about 04 months and 19 days. He is presently aged about 29 years having various responsibilities of his family and considering the facts and circumstances of the case and also his detention period, his sentence may be reduced for the period already undergone by him. 9. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the State opposes and have submitted that it is the case of teasing the school going children which have the serious impact on the society. The learned trial Court has already taken a lenient view and awarded less sentence to the appellant which needs no interference. 10. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record of the trial Court. 11. Since the appellant has not challenged his conviction and only challenging his sentence part yet from perusal of the evidence of victim PW-1 as well as her mother PW-2 and PW-5 who is the teacher of the school, the guilt of the appellant has duly been proved by the prosecution. 12. The victim PW-1 has duly supported her case and despite her lengthy and detailed cross-examination she remained firm in saying that the appellant was following her whenever she used to go to school and shown his intimacy with her, but she refuses her proposal and by the act of the appellant, he sexually harassed her repeatedly. The age of the victim has not been 4 disputed by the defence, further the age of the victim has also been proved by her birth certificate article A-1. From the birth certificate also her date of birth is proved to be of 26.05.2006 and on the date of incident she was less than 18 years of age, therefore, there is no infirmity or illegality in the conviction of the appellant for the offence under Section 12 of POCSO Act. 13. So far as the sentence part is concerned, Section 12 of POCSO Act, provides for punishment for sexual harassment. The appellant is acquitted from the offence under Section 354D(2) and 506-II of IPC, whereas he is convicted for the offence under Section 12 of POCSO Act. Section 12 of POCSO Act, does not provide any minimum sentence and maximum sentence provided is to the extent of 03 years with fine. 14. In the matter of Mohammad Giasuddin Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh reported in (1977) 3 SCC 287 Hon’ble Supreme Court has observed that If you are to punish a man retributively, you must injure him. If you are to reform him, you must improve him and, men are not improved by injuries and held in Para 9 as follows: “9. Western jurisprudes and sociologists. from their own angle have struck a like note. Sir Samuel Romilly, critical of the brutal penalties in the then Britain, said in 1817 : “The laws of England are written in blood”. Alfieri has suggested : 'society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it'. George Micodotis, Director of Criminological Research Center, Athens, Greece, maintains that 'crime is the result of the lack of the right kind of education'. If it is thus plain that crime is a pathological aberration. that the criminal can ordinarily be redeemed. that the State has to rehabilitate rather than avenge. The sub- culture that leads to anti-social behaviour has to be countered not by undue cruelty but by reculturisation. Therefore, the focus of interest in penology is the individual, and the goal is salvaging him for society. The infliction of harsh and savage punishment is thus a relic of past and regressive times. The human today views sentencing as a process of reshaping a person who has deteriorated into criminality and the modern community has a primary stake in the rehabilitation of the offender as a means of social defense. We, therefore, consider a therapeutic, rather than an 'in terrorem' outlook, should prevail in our criminal courts. since brutal incarceration of the person merely produces laceration of his mind. In the words of George Bernard Shaw : 'If you are to punish a man retributively, you must injure him. If you are to reform him, you must improve him and, men are not improved by injuries'. We may permit ourselves the liberty to quote from Judge Sir Jeoffrey Streatfield : “If you are going to have anything to do with the criminal Courts, you should see for 5 yourself the conditions under which prisoners serve their sentences.” 15. Considering the submissions made by learned counsel for the parties, considering the sentence provided for the offence under Section 12 of POCSO Act, the age of the appellant and also the fact that he already remained in jail for about 04 months and 19 days whereas the sentence awarded to the appellant is of RI for 06 months, this Court deem fit under the peculiar facts and circumstance of the case to reduce the sentence awarded to the appellant for the period already undergone by him. 16. Therefore, while maintaining the conviction of the appellant for the offence under Section 12 of POCSO Act, his sentence is reduced for the period already undergone by him. His fine sentence is remain intact. The appellant is reported to be on bail. His bail bond shall continue for the further period of 06 months as provided under Section 481 of BNSS, 2023. 17. With the above modification/alteration of sentence, the appeal is partly allowed. 18. The trial Court record along with a copy of this judgment be sent back to the trial Court concerned for compliance and necessary action. Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) Judge Alok ALOK SHARMA Digitally signed by ALOK SHARMA Date: 2025.05.09 20:04:34 +0530