'Man becomes a beast after drinking': SC denies relief to Haldwani doctor convicted of sexually assaulting 7-year-old daughter

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain the plea of a cardiologist convicted of sexually assaulting his seven-year-old daughter, dismissing his request to suspend the sentence. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma heard the matter and said the offence was serious and no relief could be granted, a PTI report stated.

Court remarks on conduct under alcohol

During the hearing, the bench noted the doctor had committed the assault while under the influence of alcohol. The court observed, "Man becomes a beast after having a drink. We should not say this, but we are the most liberal bench. If we are not giving bail, there are reasons."

The judges also said, "See, the kind of things he has done to the child. You do not deserve any relief. The child has made statements against your client. He is a perverse guy, not entitled to any suspension. They were drunk."

Testimony of child holds weight

The bench pointed out that the girl had testified against her father and withstood cross-examination. The judges stated, "You can't do this to your own daughter. Why will she testify against father. She is a small girl who has withstood cross examination."

Lawyer cites pending cases

The doctor's lawyer argued that the child's testimony was tutored and pointed to the delay in appeals due to a backlog of over 12 lakh cases in the Allahabad High Court. The lawyer said this delay meant the appeal might not be heard soon.

However, the top court said the pendency of cases could not be a reason to suspend the sentence. Following this, the lawyer withdrew the plea and the court dismissed the matter as withdrawn.

Background of the case

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the child's mother accused her husband of sexually assaulting their daughter. She lives in Varanasi, while her estranged husband stays in Haldwani, where he runs a nursing home.

On March 23, 2018, the doctor took the child to Haldwani. A week later, on March 30, he called his wife to take their daughter back. The girl later told her mother that her father had touched her inappropriately.

(Inputs from PTI)