The Gauhati High Court has acquitted a man convicted under Section 10 of the POCSO Act, 2012, after finding that the testimony of the minor victim was unreliable and not supported by medical evidence.
Justice Mridul Kumar Kalita, while hearing the appeal, observed that once it is established that the victim did not testify truthfully before the Trial Court, her evidence loses its credibility and cannot be the sole basis for conviction.
The case began when the victim’s father lodged an FIR alleging that the accused took his seven-year-old daughter at night, gagged her, and raped her. The Trial Court convicted the man and sentenced him to seven years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of ₹10,000.
Challenging this, the appellant argued that there were inconsistencies in the allegations, and medical examination showed no signs of recent sexual intercourse or injury, with the victim’s hymen intact. He contended that when aggravated penetrative assault under Section 6 POCSO could not be proved, the Trial Court should not have convicted him under Section 10.
The High Court noted that the victim claimed she was raped for an hour, but medical evidence did not support this version. It highlighted that such an act would have left injuries, yet none were found. The Bench also pointed out that the victim, being a child witness, may have been tutored.
Citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Suryanarayana vs. State of Karnataka (2001), the Court reiterated that while child testimony is not automatically unreliable, it must be scrutinized carefully.
The Court held that the Trial Court wrongly assumed facts without evidence and failed to consider the defence statements under Section 313 CrPC. Granting the benefit of doubt, the High Court set aside the conviction and sentence, ordering the appellant’s release.
Case Title: Promud Yadav v. State of Assam & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2025:GAU-AS:3746)
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