Man acquitted of sexually assaulting a minor in Odisha

Image is for representative purposes only. | Photo credit: The Hindu

In a rare case, a man accused of raping a minor under promise of marriage was acquitted by a special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, 2012) court in Puri, which ruled there was insufficient evidence for a conviction due to a lack of corroborating witness statements.

The case concerns a police complaint against a 16-year-old girl who alleged that the defendant forcibly took her on his motorcycle on October 6, 2016 and forcibly established a sexual relationship in a secluded place. The act was recorded on mobile phones.

Since then, the man has been involved in a legal dispute in which there was little hope of a positive outcome, as most cases involving allegations of rape of a minor resulted in a conviction.

In his order, Additional Sessions Judge Ramanath Panda held: “According to the victim’s statement, the only evidence provided by the victim without corroboration is considered unreliable due to lack of corroboration.” I am of the considered opinion that the evidence presented by the prosecution is not sufficient to to bring the accused within the ambit of the charges framed against him under IPC Sections 341, 354, 323, 376(2)(n) and 560 under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012.”

The judge found that the evidence was full of contradictions and inconsistencies and stated that the victim’s only evidence was not credible due to the lack of material corroboration

“Conviction cannot be made on the basis of a disputed and unreliable basic fact alleged by a POCSO victim. This has also been decided by various high courts and the Supreme Court of India in this regard,” said Debadutta Kanungo, defense counsel.