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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
G.BASAVARAJA
Rajanna S/o Munichinnappa – Appellant
Versus
State of Karnataka – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
G. BASAVARAJA, J.
1. The appellant has preferred this appeal against the judgment of conviction and order on sentence passed by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, FTSC-II, Bengaluru Rural District, Bengaluru in Special Case No.430/2017 dated 02.07.2022.
2. For the sake of convenience, the parties herein are referred to as per their status before the trial Court.
3. The brief facts leading to this appeal are that the Circle Inspector of Police, Nandagudi Circle, Sulibele Police Station submitted the charge-sheet against the accused for the offence under Section 376 (2)(i) of Indian Penal Code and under Section 6 of POCSO Act.
4. It is alleged by the prosecution that on 20.09.2017, PW.14-Sri. Govind B. M, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police was the Station House Officer of Sulibele Police Station. On that day, on the basis of MLC intimation from Vani Vilas Hospital, Bengaluru, PW14 and a Women Police Constable-CW7 visited the hospital and recorded the oral complaint-Ex.P5 given by the victim’s mother-PW8. Later, returned to the police station at 02.30 P.M. and registered the FIR.
5. The CW1-Informant, has stated that the victim girl aged about eight years and another da
The court held that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt due to delays, inconsistencies, and lack of corroborative evidence.
The prosecution must prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt, and any doubt must be resolved in favor of the accused.
The necessity of corroborative evidence in sexual assault cases is critical, and the failure to provide medical evidence raises reasonable doubt, impacting the legality of convictions.
The prosecution failed to prove the victim's age and the occurrence of the alleged incident beyond reasonable doubt, leading to the appellant's acquittal.
The competence of child witnesses, scrutiny of hostile witnesses' testimony, and the significance of corroborative evidence and the presumption under Section 29 of the POCSO Act are central legal pri....
The presumption under the POCSO Act is rebuttable and requires foundational facts to be established beyond reasonable doubt for conviction.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the reliance on consistent testimonies, medical evidence, and the severity of the crime to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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