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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
Dr.Justice G.Jayachandran, Ms.Justice R.Poornima, JJ
Kumareshan – Appellant
Versus
State rep. by The Inspector of Police, All Women Police Station – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
(G. JAYACHANDRAN, R. POORNIMA, JJ.)
This Criminal Appeal is filed against the conviction and sentence passed against the appellant/sole accused in the judgment dated 26.10.2021 passed by the Sessions Judge, Mahila Court, Pudukkottai, in Spl.S.C.No.10 of 2018 by convicting and sentencing the appellant for the offences punishable under Sections 5(1), 5(j)(ii) r/w.6 of POCSO Act 2012 and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.50,000/- in default, to undergo one year simple imprisonment.
2. The case of the prosecution is that the victim girl whose father was away from the home for his avocation, was being enticed by the accused with sweet words and being repeatedly exploited the carnal relationship as led to the pregnancy of the victim girl who was a minor, at that time point of time. The parents came to know about the pregnancy and thereafter, had sought criminal law into motion by way of a complaint, dated 27.02.2018.
3. The Investigation Officer had arranged for recording the statement of the victim girl under Section 161 Cr.P.C., and thereafter, proceeded further and filed a final report against the appellant herein for having aggravated sexua
The POCSO Act prohibits any sexual activity with a minor, regardless of claims of consent, emphasizing the importance of age determination through reliable documents.
The court established that unreliable age evidence and inconsistencies in the victim's account, coupled with her prior consent, undermined the conviction under the POCSO Act.
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 held that the prosecution failed to prove the victim's age beyond reasonable doubt, emphasizing that consent from a minor is not legally valid under the POCSO Act.
The conviction under IPC and POCSO Act was overturned due to failure of prosecution to prove the victim's age, highlighting the necessity for strict adherence to evidentiary standards in such cases.
Point of Law : Prosecution has failed to prove beyond doubt that the victim was below 18 years of age as on the date of the incident. Under these circumstances, the accused cannot be held guilty of o....
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