Kochi: The Kerala High Court questioned which God would accept obeisances from a priest who repeatedly molests a minor child in front of her siblings when sentencing an oracle to life imprisonment while raping a young girl.
Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Ziyad Rahman AA, who imposed the maximum sentence on Manjeri resident Madhu, said when a man abandons his wife and children, vultures wait to prey not only on the abandoned women, but also on their helpless children.
The court’s observations followed an appeal filed by the accused who was convicted of raping a minor. ‘When a man abandons his wife and children, roving vultures wait to prey on not only the abandoned woman, but also the helpless children. In this case we have a ‘poojari’/ ‘komaram’ (priest/ oracle in a temple) taking the abandoned woman and the three children under his wing, only to repeatedly molest the elder girl child, that too in the presence of her siblings. We wonder which God would accept the obeisance and offerings of such a priest or make him a medium?’ the court noted in its judgement.
The High Court was hearing an appeal against the POCSO court order. ‘However, the offence of rape having been proved, the accused is liable to be convicted under Section 376(1). Considering the special relationship the accused had with the victim and the status of a guardian, we are of the opinion that the maximum sentence of life imprisonment would have to be imposed on the appellant,’ the court said.
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The prosecution stated that the mother with signs of mental illness, and her three children were found wandering on the streets and rescued by the police on March 1, 2013. Upon interrogation, the elder child stated that the person with whom her mother was staying had been sexually molesting her for over a year. The court noted that the accused, a priest in a temple, frequently came home drunk, assaulted the mother and children, and sexually molested the elder child in front of her siblings. In the court’s opinion, the mental state of the mother, an embarrassment to society, can be explained by the stress of having been abandoned with three children and no means of food and shelter, for which alone the children were subjected to physical, mental and sexual torture. In these circumstances, no mother can remain sane.
The court ruled that medical evidence proved that the child had been sexually assaulted. Additionally, the court noted that the child’s brother, who was a witness in the case, corroborated the child’s statements.
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