BHANEI PRASAD Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard. Delay condoned.

(2.) The present petition assails the judgment and final order dated 03 07.2024 passed by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla in Criminal Appeal No.562 of 2019, whereby the conviction and sentence of the petitioner under Sec. 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (hereinafter, 'POCSO Act') and Sec. 506 of the Indian Penal Code has been affirmed.

(3.) The facts of the case reveal a story of unspeakable betrayal of trust by none other than the father of the victim, who stands convicted for repeatedly committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault upon his own minor daughter, who was just around ten years old at the time of the incident. The acts were not isolated incidents but sustained, deliberate assaults within the safety of the home, a place where every child expects protection.