Man accused of sexually assaulting minor acquitted in Odisha

Man acquitted of raping minor due to lack of corroborating evidence in a rare outcome by POCSO court.

In a rare outcome, a man accused of raping a minor under the promise of marriage has been acquitted by a special POCSO (Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act of 2012) court in Puri, which ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction due to a lack of corroborating testimony.

The case pertains to a police complaint of a 16-year-old girl who alleged that the accused had forcibly taken her by his motorcycle and forcibly established a sexual relationship in a secluded place on October 6, 2016. It was alleged that some photographs of the act were taken on cell phones.

Since then, the man had been entangled in a legal battle, with little hope for a favourable outcome, given that the majority of cases involving allegations of raping a minor result in conviction.

In his order, Additional Session Judge Ramanath Panda ruled, “As per the victim’s sole evidence without corroboration is held to be unreliable due to want of corroboration. I am of the considered opinion that the evidence adduced by the prosecution is not sufficient to bring the accused within the fold of the charges levelled against him under IPC Sections 341, 354, 323, 376(2)(n) and 560, as well as Section 6 of POCSO Act, 2012”

The judge found the evidence full of contradictions and discrepancies and stated the sole evidence of the victim in absence of material corroboration is not believable

“A conviction cannot be held upon a disputed and unreliable foundational fact alleged by a POCSO case victim. This has been held by different High courts and Supreme court of India as well in this regard,” said Debadutta Kanungo, defence counsel.