The Bombay High Court reduced the life sentence of a man convicted in a 2016 child rape case to 12 years, considering his age, time served, and conduct in prison.
The court upheld the conviction, relying on the victim’s consistent testimony and strong evidence presented during the trial.
The bench clarified that the decision only concerned the punishment and did not affect the finding of guilt.
On February 2, 2026, the Bombay High Court passed an order reducing the life sentence of a man convicted of raping a five years old minor girl to 12 years. The court took into account his young age at the time of the offence, the long period he had already spent in jail, and his reformative efforts while in prison. However, it upheld his conviction in the 2016 case.
A bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Sandesh Patil passed the order, a copy of which was made available on Tuesday February 10, 2026. The decision was delivered while hearing an appeal filed by the convict challenging the life sentence that was imposed on him by a special court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
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The court observed that the convict was 20 years old when the offence took place and had no prior criminal record. He had been in the court custody since December 2016 and was in jail even during the pandemic COVID-19. The court also took note of certificates showing his participation in educational and reformative programmes in prison, including an essay competition and a course on the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi.
After considering these reformative factors along with the seriousness of the crime, the bench observed, “In our opinion, the sentence of 12 years would meet the ends of justice.” It added that the time he had already spent in jail would be counted as part of his reduced sentence.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on December 9, 2016. At the time, the victim was five years old and had gone to a neighbour’s house to fetch water for her family. The accused allegedly sexually assaulted her there. The frightened child immediately informed her family about the incident. The family confronted the accused and later approached the police to file a complaint.
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The victim testified during the trial when she was eight years old. She clearly narrated the sequence of events. The High Court found her testimony reliable and consistent and found no signs of tutoring. The court said the conviction was based on strong and credible evidence and did not require interference.
The High Court clarified that its decision was limited to reducing the sentence and did not affect the trial court’s finding of guilt. It said the reduction was granted after considering the convict’s age, behaviour in prison, and the time he had already spent in jail.
[VP]
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