Pune court sentences father and son to one year's rigorous imprisonment for molesting woman

A court in Pune has convicted a father and son of verbally abusing and molesting a woman. The case was registered at Rajgad police station about ten years ago. The most important role in the verdict was played by four eyewitnesses, who corroborated the woman's statement.

First Class Judicial Magistrate A. N. Shinde sentenced Ayaz Mehboob Tamboli (60) and his son Parvez Ayaz Tamboli (35), residents of Khed Shivapur in Haveli taluka, to one year's rigorous imprisonment each. The charge that they abused and molested the woman was held to be proved against both.

Along with the sentence, the court imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on each convict. If the two do not pay the fine, they will have to serve an additional two months of simple imprisonment.

During the trial, the prosecution examined nine witnesses in all. They included the victim, four eyewitnesses and a medical officer. The eyewitnesses' statements proved decisive because what they told the court matched the victim's testimony. This strengthened the prosecution's case against the accused.

The case was argued for the state by Assistant Public Prosecutor Sheela Ghodeshwar. She made her submissions on the basis of the evidence and the witnesses' statements. She also cited several Supreme Court and High Court judgments on how evidence should be assessed and how reliable testimony should be considered.

The prosecution particularly stressed that the victim's statement and those of the eyewitnesses were consistent with one another. Medical evidence was also presented before the court.

After examining the testimony and the available evidence, the court held both men guilty and sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment.

The case was registered at Rajgad police station in 2016.