A Strong Message from the Bench: Death Sentence for Two in One of the Gravest POCSO Cases

(By Syed Ali Taher Abedi)

Banda (UP), Feb 20: The Special Judge, POCSO Cases, Banda, Uttar Pradesh, today sentenced Rambhawan and his wife Durgawati to death for multiple offences under the IPC and POCSO Act, including unnatural offences, aggravated penetrative sexual assault, using a child for pornographic purposes, storage of child pornographic material, abetment, and criminal conspiracy.

The Learned Trial Court, while pronouncing judgment, was further pleased to direct the State to award compensation of ₹10 lakh to each of the victims, in recognition of the grave trauma and irreparable harm suffered by them.

The Court also ordered that the cash amount seized from the residence of the accused be equitably distributed among the victims in equal proportion, as part of restorative measures within the framework of law.

The case was registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation on 31.10.2020 against accused Rambhawan and other unknown persons on serious allegations of sexual exploitation of children, use of minors for pornographic purposes, and the creation as well as dissemination of Child Sexual Abuse Material through online platforms.

In it’s ruling underscored by a commitment to restorative justice, the Learned Trial Court coupled its verdict with a sweeping compensatory mandate, ordering the State to disburse ₹10 lakh to each victim.

This financial redress serves as a formal judicial recognition of the “grave trauma and irreparable harm” inflicted upon the survivors, signaling an effort to mitigate the profound psychological and physical scars left in the wake of the defendants’ actions.

Furthering this pursuit of equity, the Court directed the immediate seizure and distribution of all currency recovered from the residence of the accused.

Under this order, the confiscated funds are to be divided in equal proportion among the victims—a strategic application of asset forfeiture designed to transform the spoils of crime into a mechanism for victim rehabilitation within the established framework of the law.

Case Background and Allegations

The genesis of this high-profile litigation traces back to October 31, 2020, when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) formally registered an FIR against the primary accused, Rambhawan, and a network of unidentified co-conspirators. The prosecution’s case rested on a disturbing architecture of systemic abuse, including:

• Aggravated Sexual Exploitation: The targeted abuse of vulnerable minors under the guise of various pretenses.
• Production of Contraband Material: The illicit use of children for the generation of pornographic content.
• Digital Dissemination: The sophisticated creation and global distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) via encrypted online platforms.