Recently, Delhi High Court said that judges can stay away from the public, but they cannot stay away from social expectations. The court said that criminals should be punished for their wrongdoings. The court made this comment while rejecting the petition filed by a person convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the POCSO case.

A bench headed by Justice Swarn Kanta Sharma said that while maintaining a cautious approach, the courts ensure that the pursuit of truth remains paramount. The judge said the responsibilities of the courts go beyond determining guilt or innocence. Courts play a vital role in safeguarding justice, maintaining social order and addressing the wider consequences of criminal acts on the community.

While upholding the conviction and sentence, Justice Sharma said that the minor victim had consistently stated that the convict had sexually assaulted her. He also said this in his statements recorded before the police and magistrate. The cross-examination in the case was adjourned for almost eight months and now the victim has retracted her earlier statements and her mother also said in her later testimony that she had reached a settlement in the case.

The bench said that the trial court has to be conscious of the mental condition of the victim when she appears before him and take into account that sometimes he adjourns the case to a longer date for cross-examining the victims of sexual assault. Is. Therefore, the statement of the minor may change due to many factors operating outside the walls of the courts.

The bench said that judges, while deciding a case, should go beyond why and how something happens. Courts should be alert to the unwritten constraints that speak of its commitment to uncovering the true facts and development of a case.

The bench said the trial court's lapse cannot come in the way of ensuring justice to him. It is necessary to deal with such cases strictly. The law will have to stand firmly with that victim. Since the minor victim is not able to stand for himself in the case.

The bench said that the prosecution was successful in establishing that the convict had sexually assaulted the minor after wrongfully imprisoning her. The accused person was convicted for offenses punishable under sections 323, 342 and 377 of the IPC and section 4 of the POCSO Act. The convict was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in the case.