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A. S. GADKARI
Arun Popatrao Pingale – Appellant
Versus
State of Maharashtra – Respondent
JUDGEMENT :
1. Appellant has impugned Judgment and Order dated 1st September 2018 passed by the learned Special Judge, Pune (under POCSO Act) in Special (C) Sessions Case No. 23 of 2016 by its Judgment and Order dated 1st September 2018, convicting him under Sections 376 & 506 of the Indian Penal Code (for short, ‘I.P.C.’) and is sentenced to suffer 7 years and 1 year of rigorous imprisonment on each count respectively and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/-, and is also convicted under Sections 4 & 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (for short, ‘POCSO Act’) and is directed to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and 10 years on each count respectively and to pay a fine of Rs.15,000/-. The Trial Court has directed that, all the substantive sentences shall run concurrently.
2. Heard Mr. Rajiv Patil, learned Senior Advocate for Appellant, Ms.S.S. Kaushik, learned A.P.P. for Respondent No.1-State and Mr.Aditya Bapat, learned Advocate appointed to represent Respondent No.2. Perused entire record.
3. As the victim was minor on the date of lodgment of crime, with a view to protect her identity and in consonance with provisions of Section 228(A) of I.P.C. & Section 33
Reliability of age determination evidence crucial in establishing POCSO Act violations.
The prosecution bears the burden of proving the victim's age in cases involving the POCSO Act, and failure to do so undermines the validity of charges related to sexual offences against minors.
The court upheld the conviction under POCSO, confirming that credible victim testimony and medical evidence sufficiently established the appellant's guilt in the sexual assault of a minor.
Point of Law : There was failure on the part of the prosecution to establish the essential foundational facts to attract the provision of POCSO Act.
The court established that the prosecution must prove the victim's age as under 18 years to apply the provisions of the POCSO Act, and failure to do so results in the reversal of conviction.
The central legal point established in the judgment is that in cases involving minors, the credibility of the victim's testimony holds significant weight, and corroboration may not always be necessar....
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