Mohd. Tabsir v. State (NCT of Delhi)
2022 Cri LJ 1688 : (2022) 288 DLT 698
In the High of Delhi
Crl. App. 270/2021 and B.A. 1162/2021
Before Justice Anu Malhotra
Decided on February 01, 2022

Relevancy of the Case: Appeal against the conviction in a case involving aggravated sexual assault of a minor

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67B)
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (Section 10, 42, 71)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 354)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The complainant is the survivor’s mother, and the appellant is the accused.
• The minor girl, along with her family, was sleeping under a Metro Station pillar in Delhi when the appellant molested the 11-year-old by removing her underwear.
• She cried and alerted her family, who then immediately chased the appellant and registered an FIR.
• The Sessions Court convicted the accused and gave an imprisonment of 6 years. On appeal, the High Court directed the trial court to requisition their records in electronic form to decide the case.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The appellant’s counsel argued that he was falsely incarcerated because no streetlight was on the road. Thus, it was impossible to identify the wrongdoer. Further, he was near a template at the time of the crime. There were no public witnesses to support the complainant’s claims.
• The prosecution submitted that the template was one kilometre away from the area where they were sleeping.

Opinion of the Bench

• All the witnesses substantiated their testimony. There were no inconsistencies about the occurrence of the crime.
• The Session Court had rightfully convicted the accused. However, being a first-time offender, a reduced sentence is considerable.

Final Decision

• The court rejected the appeal and bail application while modifying the sentence to 5 years. The court also issued directions for meditational therapy and counselling for the appellant.

Nikita D’Lima, an undergraduate student at NMIMS School of Law, Navi Mumbai, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2023.