SHILLONG: The Meghalaya High Court made a noteworthy legal change recently. They edited the prison sentence of a person who was guilty of sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl. They reduced it to 10 years. This case started in 2017 when the girl's mom made a complaint. It's gone through many legal stages before this new decision by the court's two-judge team.
A result of the incident was the arrest and trial of Rajingstar Thabah in Shillong, by a Special Judge (POCSO), with a verdict given on July 11, 2022. They sentenced Thabah to 18 years of hard labor prison and made him pay Rs 20,000. If he didn't pay, he would serve an extra 3-month 'simple' prison sentence. The fine would help the young victim.
On March 7, the two-judge team of the High Court, made up of Chief Judge S Vaidyanathan, and Judge W Diengdoh, looked at a criminal appeal. They chose to change the sentence. Now, Thabah would serve 10 years in prison, but still pay the Rs 20,000 fine.
The High Court highlighted that if the fine hadn't been paid, it must go to the victim girl. This sticks to the lower court's ruling. Also, the court stated that Thabah could subtract time already in custody from his sentence, under law section 428 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Although the judges agreed with most of the trial court's decision, their change in the length of the prison term is significant. Their decision shows how they balanced justice for the victim with the law that adjusts sentences based on time already spent in custody.
Talking about a sexual assault case demonstrates how tricky it can be to pick the right punishment, considering how old the victim is and how bad the crime was. Our legal system tries hard to do right - punishing the guilty but also making sure it's fair.
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