BHANEI PRASAD @ RAJU versus STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

Citation: [2025] 9 S.C.R. 91 · Decided: 04-08-2025 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: ARAVIND KUMAR, SANDEEP MEHTA · Disposal: Dismissed

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Judgment (excerpt)

[2025] 9 S.C.R. 91 : 2025 INSC 934
Bhanei Prasad @ Raju  
v. 
State of Himachal Pradesh 
(Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 11587 of 2025)
04 August 2025
[Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Mehta, JJ.]
Issue for Consideration
Matter pertains to correctness of the order passed by the High Court 
upholding the order of conviction of the father u/s.6 POCSO Act 
and s.506 IPC and imposition of life imprisonment, for committing 
sexual assault of his own minor daughter.
Headnotes†
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 –  
ss.6, 29 – Penal Code, 1860 – s.506 – Sexual assault on 
minor – Repeated aggravated penetrative sexual assault by 
father upon his minor daughter, aged ten years old – These 
acts were sustained, deliberate assaults within the safety of 
the home – Conviction of the father u/s.6 POCSO Act and 
s.506 IPC and imposition of life imprisonment by the courts 
below – Correctness:
Held: Conviction and sentence awarded by the courts below found 
to be just, lawful and necessary – No infirmity or perversity in 
the concurrent findings of the courts below – Presumption u/s.29 
stood unrebutted – Victim’s testimony was unwavering, medically 
corroborated, and free from embellishment – Her disclosure, 
though delayed, was truthful and borne out of perennial trauma 
and threats she has undergone – Testimony of a child victim, if 
found credible and trustworthy, requires no corroboration – Courts 
below have not merely accepted the victim’s account, they have 
validated it through unimpeachable scientific evidence – DNA 
report sealed the evidentiary chain and has dispelled all doubts 
in the prosecution case – No daughter, however aggrieved, would 
fabricate charges of this magnitude against her own father merely 
to escape household discipline – Such offences of sexual abuse 
deserve nothing but the severest condemnation and deterrent 
punishment – Entertaining of the present petition or remotely 
considering the grant of bail, after the guilt has been proved and 
92
[2025] 9 S.C.R.
Supreme Court Reports
affirmed, would not merely undermine the majesty of the law, it 
would amount to a betrayal of the constitutional promise made 
to every child of this country – It would be a judicial insult to the 
sanctity of womanhood and a blow to every mother who teaches 
her child to believe in justice – When a father who is expected to 
be a shield, a guardian, a moral compass, becomes the source of 
the most severe violation of a child’s bodily integrity and dignity, 
the betrayal is not only personal but institutional – Incestuous 
sexual violence committed by a parent is a distinct category of 
offence that tears through the foundational fabric of familial trust 
and must invite the severest condemnation in both language and 
sentence – There can be no mitigation in sentencing for crimes 
that subvert the very notion of family as a space of security – Arc 
of constitutional justice, particularly u/Art.142, extends beyond 
punishment to encompass rehabilitation, reparation, and the 
affirmation of human dignity – Having regard to the age of the 
victim at the time of the offence, the sustained nature of the abuse, 
and the constitutional obligation to provide meaningful redress, a 
sum of Rs.10,50,000/- to be paid to the victim as compensation 
as per the Scheme by the State. [Paras 4-17]
Case Law Cited
Nipun Saxena v. Union of India [2018] 14 SCR 755 : (2019) 2 
SCC 703 – relied on.
List of Acts
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012; Penal 
Code, 1860; Constitution of India.
List of Keywords
Father committing sexual assault of his own minor daughter; 
Repeated aggravated penetrative sexual assault; Deliberate 
assaults within the safety of the home; Life imprisonment; 
Presumption; Medical corroborated; Testimony of a child victim; 
Unimpeachable scientific evidence; DNA report; Household 
discipline; Severest condemnation; Deterrent punishment; 
Judicial insult; Guardian; Moral compass; Rehabilitation or reform; 
Incestuous sexual violence; Constitutional justice; Affirmation of 
human dignity; Compensation; Compensation Scheme for Women 
Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/Other Crimes, 2018; Rule of 
law; Justice delivery system.
[2025] 9 S.C.R. 
93
Bhanei Prasad @ Raju v. State of Himachal Pradesh
Case Arising From
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Special Leave Petition 
(Criminal) No. 11587 of 2025
From the Judgment and Order dated 03-07-2024 of the High Court 
of Himachal Pradesh at Shim

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