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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
G.BASAVARAJA
Chandru S/o Late Nagashetty – Appellant
Versus
State By Chamarajanagar Town Police, Reptd. By State Public Prosecutor – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. details of the alleged offense and investigation (Para 3 , 4 , 5 , 6) |
| 2. arguments questioning victim's age and credibility (Para 12 , 13 , 14 , 15) |
| 3. examination of documents related to victim's age (Para 21 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 26) |
| 4. court's analysis rejects prosecution claims (Para 29 , 30) |
JUDGMENT :
G.BASAVARAJA, J.
The appellants have preferred these appeals against the judgment of conviction and order on sentence dated 14th September, 2021 passed in Spl.C.No.164 of 2018 by the Principal District and Sessions Judge & Special Judge for POCSO Cases, Chamarajanagara (for short "the trial Court").
2. For the sake of convenience, the parties herein are referred to as per their status before the trial Court.
3. Brief facts leading to this appeal are that, Chamarajanagara Town Police submitted the charge-sheet against the accused 1 and 2 for the offences punishable under Sections 363, 366, 368, 114, 341, 376 of Indian Penal Code and Sections 4, 8, 12 and 17 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (for short "POCSO Act").
4. It is alleged by the prosecution that, PWs2 and 3 are the parents of the victim. The date of birth of the victim girl is 14th April, 200
The prosecution must provide credible evidence to prove a victim's age under POCSO, as failure to establish this undermines the validity of sexual offense charges.
The court emphasized that the burden to prove the victim's age lies with the prosecution, which failed to establish it through credible evidence, leading to the acquittal of the appellant.
The court held that the uncorroborated testimony of a minor victim in a sexual assault case can sustain a conviction, provided it is credible.
Rape of girl child – Merely because victim did not immediately complain to her parents or others and was keeping quiet and fact that there was even chance of repeated assaults by itself will not abso....
The conviction in sexual offences requires credible and reliable evidence, especially regarding the victim's age, and reliance solely on secondary evidence without primary proof is insufficient.
Prosecution failed to sufficiently prove the victim's age or the alleged offences, resulting in the acquittal of the accused due to insufficient evidence.
Prosecution must establish victim's age and consent beyond reasonable doubt; reliance on unverified documents and lack of corroboration leads to acquittal in sexual assault cases.
Point of law: Since the appellant/accused had made the victim pregnant by his act of penetrative sexual assault the offence under Section 5(j)(ii) of the POCSO Act is also attracted and conviction of....
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