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IN THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM & ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
MICHAEL ZOTHANKHUMA, N.UNNI KRISHNAN NAIR
Md. Abdul Noor, S/o- Late Idris Ali – Appellant
Versus
State of Assam, to be Rep. By The Public Prosecutor And Anr., Assam – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
1. Heard Mr. H.R.A. Choudhury, learned Sr. Counsel assisted by Mr. I.U. Choudhury, learned counsel for the appellant. Also heard Ms. B. Bhuyan, learned Sr. Counsel and Addl. P.P., Assam appearing for the respondent No.1 and Mr. U. Choudhury, learned Legal Aid Counsel appearing for the respondent No.2.
2. The appellant has challenged the impugned judgment and order dated 16.12.2019 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Karimganj in Sessions Case No. 18/2015, by which the appellant has been convicted under Section 376(2)(i) of IPC read with Section 6, for having committed the offence under Section 5(j) (ii) of the POCSO Act, 2012. The appellant was thereafter sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for the remainder of his life with a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/- in default, rigorous imprisonment for 1 (one) year under Section 376(2)(i) of IPC.
3. The appellant has put to challenge the impugned judgment basically on three grounds. Firstly, though blood sample had been taken from the appellant and the victim’s child on 13.12.2013 for conducting a DNA test, no report was made. Thereafter, a second blood sample was collected from the appellant, the victim and the baby on 18.01.2014
The court emphasized the necessity of valid evidence for victim age determination and the unsuitability of applying deleted provisions of law for conviction, thereby affirming the need for due proces....
The court established that in cases involving minors, consent is irrelevant to sexual offences, with the victim's age determined primarily through school records, highlighting strict legal protection....
The conviction under the POCSO Act was overturned due to lack of corroborative evidence and DNA results disproving paternity, emphasizing the necessity for reliable witness testimony in sexual crime ....
(1) In order to attract offence under POCSO Act prosecution has to establish that victim girl is a child as defined under Section 2(1)(d) of POCSO Act.(2) It is highly unsafe to convict a person only....
The legal principle established in the judgment is that the court may rely on evidence such as DNA testing to establish the guilt of the accused, and the benefit of the doubt may be rejected based on....
The prosecution must prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, and discrepancies in evidence can lead to acquittal in sexual assault cases.
The prosecution failed to prove the victim's minor status and the identity of the perpetrators, leading to the acquittal of the accused.
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