Judiciary Update

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 9/26/2022 12:50:17 PM

OneHalf Of Life Imprisonment in Pocso is 10 Years: Bombay High Court

MUMBAI,Sep 25 Four years after Bombay high court sentenced a man under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) to ‘one half of the life sentence’ a prison superintendent last month sought court’s guidance in understanding how many years must the convict serve. The HC said it means 10 years, since under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for fractions, a ‘life imprisonment’ is to taken as meaning 20 years. “When it is mentioned that it should be one-half of the life imprisonment then the exact meaning is in section 57 of IPC which says In calculating fractions of terms of punishment, imprisonment for life shall be reckoned as equivalent to imprisonment for twenty years. Thus half of life imprisonment in such cases would mean imprisonment for ten years”, said Justice SV Kotwal, finding “no ambiguity or confusion” in the 2018 HC order. A man convicted for rape and under POCSO had gone in appeal before the HC in 2017. In January 2018 the HC had quashed his conviction for rape under section 376 IPC and aggravated penetrative sexual assault under section 6 of POCSO and instead convicted him for a lesser offence under section 18 of POCSO (punishment for attempt to commit an offence) read with section 6 of POCSO and under section 511 of Indian Penal Code read with section 376 (2) IPC. The HC had directed him to “suffer rigorous imprisonment for one half of the imprisonment for life” as provided under these sections. Section 18 of POCSO says anyone attempting to commit a POCSO offence will be punished with one half of the life imprisonment or of the longest term it attracts. Similarly, an offence under section 511 says a person who attempts to commit an offence punishable with lifeimprisonment shall serve half of the life imprisonment. On August 2, 2022, the HC registry received a letter from the Kolhapur Central Prison superintendent. The jail superintendent said he did not understand the quantum of sentence the convict has to undergo. He had first sought the guidance of the Sangli sessions court which had conducted the trial. In April the Sangli court said it would be proper to seek guidance from the HC which had passed the order. Advocate Drupad Patil as an Amicus curiae (friend of court) and additional public prosecutor Yogesh Dabke, both said there was reason for the jailor to seek any clarification or guidance of the HC, as the law was clear and the issue was dealt with earlier in 2011 by the HC too.