Calcutta HC gives paedophile 7 months in jail for crime committed 27 years ago
Times of India | 6 March 2025
KOLKATA: Calcutta High Court recently directed a man to serve out a prison term of seven months - for sexually abusing a minor 27 years ago, and for which he was convicted nine years back.
Suresh Rajbanshi, a resident of Hooghly, was found guilty of the molestation of a five-year-old in 1998 and was convicted in 2016. He appealed in Calcutta High Court, which stayed the sentence. Last Friday (Feb 28), nine years after that, the high court turned down his appeal.
Rajbanshi had challenged his conviction under Section 323 IPC (voluntarily causing hurt), which had a six-month prison term, and Section 354 IPC (outraging modesty), which only had a seven-month prison term. His challenge was on the claim that the five-year-old child's testimony in court had been "tutored" by her parents, Rajbanshi's neighbours.
He also sought to establish that he was an "idiot", legal parlance back then which meant a person who was not always aware of the consequences of his actions. The HC suspended the sentence until the appeals were heard.
Under the stringent Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, which was passed in 2012), similar offences are non-bailable and can land one in jail for a minimum of 20 years in jail and a maximum of life behind bars.