Meghalaya High Court upholds POCSO conviction and replaces life term with 25 years

The Meghalaya High Court has upheld a father's conviction for aggravated penetrative sexual assault on his minor daughter while reducing life imprisonment to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment. The bench accepted the survivor's testimony and supporting age and medical evidence, and rejected objections concerning the charge and trial procedure in the absence of demonstrated prejudice. It considered reformation, the appellant's age and social background when modifying punishment. The ₹10,000 fine and three month default term remain. The decision changes the sentence without disturbing the conviction, and does not suggest that the underlying sexual offences were consensual or legally less serious.