Justifiable delay in FIR no ground to unsettle conviction in sexual assault of a minor, rules Kerala HC

Kochi: High court has held that a justifiable delay in lodging first information statement (FIS) or registering FIR in a case involving the alleged sexual assault of a minor cannot, by itself, be a ground to unsettle the conviction of the accused.Justice A Badharudeen issued the ruling while partly allowing an appeal filed by N Anil of Ottappalam, Palakkad, the sole accused in a case in which he allegedly assaulted an 11-year-old girl in 2010. The appeal challenged his conviction and sentence imposed by the sessions court.According to prosecution, on Dec 12, 2010, the accused, with the intent to satisfy his lust, criminally trespassed into the victim's residence and sexually assaulted her. He thereafter threatened her with a knife to prevent her from disclosing the incident. The sessions court convicted him and sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 1.25 lakh.In his appeal, the accused contended before HC that there was an inordinate delay in lodging the FIS and registering FIR. He pointed out that the FIS was recorded on Dec 27, 2010, and the FIR was registered on Jan 4, 2011, and argued that the allegations against him were false.Opposing the appeal, the public prosecutor submitted that there was no deliberate delay in lodging the FIR. It was argued that the accused had threatened the victim with a knife, instilling fear of serious harm, which caused a delay in reporting the offence. Additionally, the accused allegedly went to the victim's school the day after the incident and threatened her, showing his mobile phone and claiming that he would circulate images of her nudity. He also allegedly went to the hospital where the victim had been admitted and attempted to intimidate her by peering through a window.Upon considering the submissions and facts of the case, HC found that there was reasonable justification for the delay in lodging the FIS and registering FIR, as the victim had been frightened by the accused's threats. The court held that mere delay in lodging the FIS or registering the FIR in a case involving the sexual assault of a minor cannot be a ground to unsettle a conviction. However, considering various other facts of the case, HC modified the sentence imposed on the accused, reducing it from seven years to five years.