New Delhi. The Delhi High Court, while quashing the conviction and five-year imprisonment of a man accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl, has said that ‘bearing the social stigma of false allegations of child sexual abuse is more painful than a jail sentence’. Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, while hearing the convict’s appeal against the trial court’s January 2023 verdict, said that there are significant flaws in the arguments and record presented by the prosecution and the victim’s testimony lacks credibility.
In the order passed on Monday, the court said that ‘the inference of offense by the trial court under sections 29 and 30 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act cannot be the basis for convicting the appellant, because the victim’s The testimony is not credible, and there are serious flaws in the prosecution case. The court emphasized that wrongful conviction is worse than wrongful acquittal in a case. The court order states that ‘just as a wrongful acquittal shakes public confidence, a wrongful conviction is much worse.
The stigma of social stigma that an accused facing false charges of alleged sexual abuse of a child has to bear is more painful than the rigors of trial and imprisonment.’ This case dates back to 2016, when the victim (12) had alleged that her aunt’s brother (cousin) had sexually assaulted her in her house. The High Court observed that there was a delay in filing the FIR in the case, which became significant due to the matrimonial dispute between the victim’s ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt’ (appellant’s sister). The order said that ‘complete silence on the incident for a period of five days casts a deep shadow of doubt on the prosecution’s case.
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It can also be seen that the victim, on her own discretion, is repeatedly changing her statement regarding the acts committed by the appellant. The court has said that ‘it cannot be denied that the case is based on fabricated allegations or fabricated stories due to enmity and marital disputes. It can also be seen that the victim had refused internal medical examination without any solid reason. Therefore, the court opined that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against the accused. Along with this, the court has acquitted the accused and ordered his release.
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Tags: DELHI HIGH COURT, Delhi news, pocso act
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 17, 2024, 22:01 IST