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ROBIN PHUKAN
Sarbat Ali, S/o Inchan Ali – Appellant
Versus
State of Assam – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
Heard Mr. S.S.S. Rahman, learned counsel for the appellant; Mr. R.J. Barua, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State respondent No. 1; and Mr. R.S. Sadial, learned counsel for the respondent No. 2.
2. In this appeal, under Section 374(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (‘Cr.P.C.‘, for short), the appellant has put to challenge the correctness or otherwise of the judgment and order, dated 14.06.2023, passed by the learned Special Judge (POCSO), Bajali Pathsala (‘learned trial court‘, for short), in Special (P) Case No. 12/2019, under Sections 342/366 of the Indian Penal Code (‘IPC‘, for short) and read with Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (‘POCSO Act‘, for short).
3. It is to be noted here that vide judgment and order dated 14.06.2023, the learned trial court has convicted the appellant under Section 4 of the POCSO Act and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 7 (seven) years and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- with default stipulation and further convicted him under Section 342 of the IPC and sentenced him to undergo simple imprisonment for 1 (one) year and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- with default stipulation and also conv
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.
The victim's testimony, if found reliable, can form the sole basis for conviction under the POCSO Act, and legal presumption against the accused places the burden of rebuttal on the defense.
The importance of proving the victim's age and the need for corroboration of the victim's testimony in cases of sexual offences.
The prosecution must establish the victim's age as below 18 years and provide corroborating evidence to prove charges under the POCSO Act.
The court held that discrepancies in the victim's testimony and lack of corroborating evidence created reasonable doubt, leading to the appellant's acquittal.
The court held that the uncorroborated testimony of a minor victim in a sexual assault case can sustain a conviction, provided it is credible.
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