Minor's sexual assault case: HC upholds charges against suspended Delhi govt official

The Delhi High Court has refused to quash the charges framed against suspended Delhi government official Premoday Khakha, who allegedly raped a minor girl several times.

The High Court also upheld the charges of causing miscarriage of the minor girl and disappearance of evidence framed against the official's wife, Seema Rani.

It further refused to set aside the charge against his two children and wife under Section 21 of the POCSO Act for failure to report the offence despite having knowledge.

"This court is of the considered opinion that there is no perversity or legal infirmity in the order passed by the sessions court framing charges against petitioner Premoday Khakha for offences under Sections 376(2)(f), 376(3), 323, and 354 of the IPC, and Sections 6 and 8 of the POCSO Act," Justice Swarana Kana Sharma said in the judgment passed on July 15 and made available on July 28.

Premoday was charged for the alleged offences of raping a girl while being a relative or in a position of trust or authority towards her, and raping a girl under 16 years of age and causing hurt.

The court also rejected Premoday's contention that the charges against him should be quashed or that he should be discharged on the ground of his alleged inability to impregnate the prosecutrix due to his prior vasectomy.

The accused had raised the argument that even if the girl's allegations are taken at face value, she could not have become pregnant since he had undergone a vasectomy procedure in 2005, rendering him allegedly incapable of reproduction.

"In this regard, the sessions court has rightly observed that the mere fact of having undergone vasectomy does not conclusively establish that the accused was incapable of committing penetrative sexual assault or of impregnating the prosecutrix.

"It has been correctly noted that vasectomy, as a medical procedure, is not infallible, and there are medically documented cases of conception occurring despite a male partner having undergone such a procedure," the High Court said.

Premoday has been accused of allegedly raping a minor girl, the daughter of a person known to him, several times between November 2020 and January 2021. He is currently in judicial custody after his arrest in August 2023.

The official's wife Seema Rani allegedly gave the girl medicines to terminate her pregnancy. She is also in judicial custody.

The High Court passed the order while dismissing the pleas by Premoday, Seema, their son Harsh Prateek and daughter Prateeksha challenging framing of charges against them by the trial court.

The High Court said the trial court order did not suffer from legal infirmity or perversity.

While upholding the charges against Seema and their two children, the court said they failed to report the incident to the authorities despite having knowledge.

"The material available on record, including the categorical statements of the prosecutrix and the surrounding circumstances, sufficiently indicate that the said accused persons were aware of the commission of the offence and failed to report the same to the concerned authorities," it said.

The husband-wife duo was arrested in August 2023 after the survivor recorded her statement before a magistrate at a hospital.

Their children were granted anticipatory bail by the Supreme Court in January 2024. The case was registered under provisions of the POCSO Act and Indian Penal Code.