Factual Background 

In the case of Suo Motu proceedings v. State of Kerala The accused’s conviction and sentence for charges punishable under Section 376 of the Penal Code, 1860, and Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Charges Act, 2012, are being challenged in suo motu proceedings against a decision dated 10-07-2019. After her mother passed away, the victim was residing at a childcare facility with her younger sister, who would travel to see the accused on vacation. The accused was the victim’s father. For a crime covered by Section 4 of the POCSO Act, the defendant received a life sentence. The Court stated in an order dated 10/7/2019 that the suo motu proceedings were started because the decision violated Section 42 of the POCSO Act, which calls for harsher punishment in cases where the same act is subject to a different law’s alternative punishment.

Analysis of Court order

The Division Bench of Justices P.B. Suresh Kumar and C.S. Sudha of the Kerala High Court explained that the maximum penalty under the IPC was life in jail. The offender was given a sentence of harsh imprisonment for life, which was the maximum under the IPC, despite the fact that the punishment under Section 376 of the IPC was more severe at the time. The case was closed as a result of the Court’s refusal to continue.

The court cited the accusations against the defendant in this case, who allegedly raped the woman twice, in September 2011 and December 2013. On November 14, 2012, the POCSO Act did, however, go into effect. In a criminal appeal against a conviction, the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict the accused of sexually assaulting the victim in September 2011. At the time the offence was committed, the POCSO Act stipulated that the offender would face “punishment with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than seven years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.” The Penal Code, 1860, on the other hand, stipulated in 2013 that punishment with rigorous imprisonment for a term shall not be less than ten years, but shall also be liable to a fine.