Sikkim High Court Urges Scientific Review Of Child Mental Health Schemes; Flags Prison Rehabilitation Failure As Convict Commits "More Heinous" Second Crime
The Bench, opening the judgment with Demi Lovato and Marshmello's "It's Okay Not to Be Okay", upheld the accused's conviction for sexual assault and abetment of a 16-year-old girl's suicide.
The Sikkim High Court has called upon the State Government to adopt a structured and scientifically evaluated approach towards protecting the mental health of children, while also expressing concern over the effectiveness of prison rehabilitation programmes after noting that the appellant had committed a more serious offence despite an earlier conviction.
The Bench made the observations while partly allowing a criminal appeal filed by a man convicted in a POCSO case. The Court upheld his convictions for sexual assault under the POCSO Act, wrongful restraint and abetment of suicide, but set aside the separate sentence under Section 354A IPC in view of Section 42 of the POCSO Act and Section 71 IPC, holding that multiple punishments for overlapping offences were impermissible.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan and Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan observed, “…we express our deep sense of worry on the issue of mental health of our children after reading the laments of the victim in her suicide note which we hesitate to reproduce here. The mental health of a child, and in this case a girl child, is a matter of serious concern…There must be a process of scientific evaluation of the working of these schemes on a periodic basis. We say no further”.
Advocate Thupden Youngda (Legal Aid Counsel) appeared for the appellant and S.K. Chettri, Additional Public Prosecutor appeared for the respondent.
The Court also expressed concern over repeat offending by the appellant, who had previously been convicted under Section 458 IPC in 2011.
“Firstly, we notice that the appellant was previously convicted under section 458 of the IPC in the year 2011 by the learned Sessions Judge, South and West at Namchi in S.T. Case No. 23 of 2009 and was directed to serve imprisonment for a term of twenty-five months. However, we notice that he has gone and committed another crime again and more heinous than the previous one. We express our concern about the effectiveness of the rehabilitation scheme in the State Central Prison at Rongyek”, the Bench said.
The appeal arose from the conviction of the appellant by the Special Judge (POCSO), West Sikkim, for offences arising out of the sexual assault of a 17-year-old schoolgirl who later died by suicide. The prosecution relied upon a suicide note recovered from the victim's room, forensic handwriting analysis, medical evidence, and witness testimonies to establish the sequence of events.
The appellant challenged the conviction, contending that the investigation was defective, the victim's age and authorship of the suicide note had not been proved, and that the evidence was insufficient. Rejecting these submissions, the Court held that the prosecution had established an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence proving the appellant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The Bench found that the suicide note, corroborated by witness testimony, forensic evidence and medical records, clearly described the appellant's acts of sexual assault, wrongful restraint and harassment, which compelled the victim to end her life. The Court also upheld the trial court's finding that the victim was a child under the POCSO Act based on birth records and official evidence.
While modifying the sentence by setting aside the punishment under Section 354A IPC, the Court affirmed the remaining convictions and sentences, directed that they run concurrently, and upheld the compensation awarded to the victim's parents.
“…Although, we are aware that the State is conducting various programs for assuring that the mental health of our citizens are well taken care of, if there is any possibility to do more, the State must not hesitate to take proactive steps at all levels to ensure that the mental health of every child is protected. We draw the attention of the State to the mental health conditions of our children both in the rural as well as in the urban areas. We implore it to take not only substantive measures but have a structured plan keeping in mind that the healthy mind of a child is paramount for the growth of our State and our Country at large…”, the Bench noted in the judgment.
Recognising the broader societal concerns emerging from the case, the Bench directed that copies of the judgment be forwarded to the Additional Director General of Police overseeing the State Central Prison and to the Chief Secretary of Sikkim for appropriate action.
Cause Title: Chewang Sherpa v. State of Sikkim CRL. A. No. 19 of 2023
Appearances:
Appellant: Thupden Youngda, Advocate (Legal Aid Counsel).
Respondent: S.K. Chettri, Additional Public Prosecutor, Sujan Sunwar, Assistant Public Prosecutor.