Srinagar, Dec. 24 -- A fast-track court dealing with cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in Srinagar has sentenced a man to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a minor boy aged around five and a half years, holding that the statutory minimum punishment would adequately meet the ends of justice in the case.

The sentence was pronounced by the Presiding Officer Umi Kulsoom while deciding the quantum of punishment arising out of FIR No. 45/2018 registered at Police Station Harwan. The court observed that criminal jurisprudence in India is not solely retributive and requires a careful assessment of both aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

The convict, identified as Nazir Ahmad Doyi, son...