Court sends man to 18-month jail for molesting minor girl

A Delhi court has sentenced a man to 18 months in jail for molesting a girl child after trespassing into her house in the absence of her parents, saying he did not deserve benefit of probation as the victim was a minor.
Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan handed down the jail term to Hari Om, a resident of south Delhi's Badarpur here, while relying on the testimony of the victim and her mother, who lodged the complaint.
"On the basis of evidence, I am of the considered opinion that prosecution has established its case against the accused beyond the pales of reasonable doubt. Accused is convicted for the offence under section 354 (molestation) as well as 451(house-trespass) of the IPC.

"The convict has not been previously convicted for similar offence. However, keeping the manner in which the offence was committed and the victim being minor, it is not deemed appropriate to give benefit of probation to the convict," the magistrate said while sentencing him.
According to prosecution, on the night of April 1, 2012, when the victim was sleeping with her siblings in her house, the accused broke into the house, gagged her mouth and took her to his house where he molested her.
When the girl screamed, the neighbours gathered and later informed her mother who then gave a written complaint to the police after three days. However, an FIR was lodged in the case on May 15, 2012.

The counsel for the accused claimed that his client was falsely implicated and there was an unexplained delay in lodging the FIR, a contention rejected by the court.