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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
SUNDER MOHAN
Manikandan @ Sudukattan – Appellant
Versus
State represented by Inspector of Police, Karipatty Police Station – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
Sunder Mohan, J.
This Criminal Appeal has been filed by the sole accused challenging the conviction and sentence imposed upon him vide judgment dated 29.03.2022 in Spl.S.C.No.77 of 2020, on the file of the learned Sessions Judge, POCSO Principal Special Court, Salem.
2(i) It is the case of the prosecution that the appellant and the victim belong to the same village; that the family of the appellant and the victim are known to each other; that on 22.02.2020, the victim aged about eight years, informed her mother [PW1] that she want to play with PW4, the brother-in-law of PW1; that on the same day at about 7.00 p.m., the appellant took the victim to a nearby field and removed the dress of the victim and committed penetrative sexual assault on the victim; that when the victim shouted, the appellant fled from the place; that the victim came home and informed about the occurrence to PW1 and on the complaint of PW1, a case was registered against the appellant for the offence under Section 3 r/w 4 of the POCSO Act, in Cr.No.77 of 2020.
(ii) The investigation was conducted by PW13 and a final report was filed against the appellant for the offence under Section 5(m) r/w 6 of the POCS
The court emphasized the necessity of corroborative evidence in sexual assault cases, modifying the conviction from penetrative sexual assault to aggravated sexual assault due to insufficient evidenc....
The court held that while the victim's testimony suggested sexual assault, inconsistencies regarding penetration necessitated a reduction in conviction to lesser charges under the POCSO Act.
Prosecution failed to prove victim's age and that the assaults were not consensual, leading to the overturning of the conviction.
The victim's testimony in a sexual assault case stands at a higher pedestal than injured witness and needs no corroboration.
The court emphasized the reliability of the victim's testimony while clarifying that mere sexual assault does not meet the threshold for aggravated charges under POCSO, which necessitates proof of pe....
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