2 min readThiruvananthapuramUpdated: Mar 6, 2026 05:30 AM IST
A tuition teacher in Kerala was sentenced to 18 years of rigorous imprisonment in a Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case in which the survivor disclosed the abuse 11 years after it took place.
A fast-track court sentenced 57-year-old Subash Kumar to 18 years of rigorous imprisonment under various sections of the POCSO Act and imposed a fine of Rs 35,000 in a case registered in 2024. He will have to undergo another 3.5 years in jail if he fails to pay the fine, special judge Anju Meera Birla said. Advocates R S Vijay Mohan and P Surabhi appeared for the prosecution.
The alleged incidents of sexual abuse took place in 2013-14, when the survivor, who was Dalit, was a Class 5 student. The convict was a tuition teacher. According to investigators, repeated instances of sexual abuse forced the girl to stop attending Kumar’s classes, although fear stopped her from disclosing the trauma to her family.
The incident came to light in July 2024, when the survivor, a medical student at the time, underwent therapy while seeking treatment at the psychiatry department for depression. Upon the doctor’s advice, she approached the police, leading to an FIR in the case.
During trial, the survivor said that as a result of the trauma, she frequently suffered debilitating panic attacks that were eventually diagnosed as panic disorder. In her second year of college, she developed signs of depression and sought help after meeting a friend’s father reminded her of the incident and triggered a panic attack.
The court held that the delay in reporting the sexual abuse was reasonably and validly explained by the prosecution. The delay was attributed to the mental trauma suffered by the victim, her difficult home circumstances, and the stigma surrounding mental health treatment, the court said, adding that the court found no reason to doubt her testimony.
