Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, June 25

A special court in Srinagar on Thursday sentenced a husband and wife to 20 years’ imprisonment after convicting them of sexually assaulting a minor girl and abetting the crime in a case prosecuted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The Special Fast Track Court for POCSO cases, presided over by Judge Umi Kulsoom, found Muhammad Arif Waza guilty of aggravated penetrative sexual assault and rape, while his wife, Zubaida, was convicted of abetting the offence, according to the judgment.

The court sentenced both convicts to 20 years’ simple imprisonment under the provisions of the POCSO Act. Waza was also convicted under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, while Zubaida was convicted for abetment under the IPC. The court directed that all sentences would run concurrently.

In addition, Waza was fined Rs 1.80 lakh and Zubaida Rs 50,000, with the compensation to be paid to the victim. The court ordered additional imprisonment in the event of default in payment of the fines.

The prosecution said the minor girl had been sent to the couple’s residence in Srinagar’s Aloochi Bagh locality in August 2021 to learn embroidery.

The case came to light after the girl’s father recorded a telephone conversation in which Waza allegedly made incriminating remarks. Following questioning by her family, the girl disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted during her stay, leading to the registration of a police case at Shergari Police Station.

During the investigation, police seized the complainant’s mobile phone containing the recorded conversation, collected forensic evidence from the scene, recorded the victim’s statement before a magistrate and obtained medical, forensic and DNA reports.

The prosecution relied on both scientific evidence and electronic records during the trial.

Rejecting objections raised by the defence regarding the admissibility of the recorded telephone conversation, the court held that the electronic evidence corroborated the victim’s testimony and other material placed before it.

The court observed that while the medical examination did not establish evidence of recent sexual intercourse, it did not rule out an earlier assault and had to be assessed alongside the victim’s consistent testimony, forensic findings and other evidence.

Holding that the prosecution had established the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, the court said the accused had failed to rebut the statutory presumptions available under the POCSO Act before pronouncing sentence.