'Inconsistencies in evidence': Bombay HC grants bail, suspends sentence of elderly couple convicted in POCSO case

Bombay High Court recently granted bail to and suspended the sentence of an octogenarian couple accused of sexually assaulting a minor from their building in 2013.

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to an octogenarian couple sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting their four-year-old neighbour in 2013 and suspended their punishment after finding inconsistencies in the evidence of the witnesses against the two. In March, the special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court had convicted and sentenced the 87-year-old man and his wife, 81, to 10 years in prison for offences punishable under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act. Advocate Dinesh Tiwari appearing for the elderly couple submitted that the allegations against the couple are false and baseless. He also pointed out that there are several inconsistencies in the evidence of witnesses.