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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
SUNDER MOHAN
Adhimoolam – Appellant
Versus
State of Tamil Nadu, Rep. by Inspector of Police – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. overview of the case and factual background. (Para 1 , 2 , 6) |
| 2. arguments by appellant and prosecution. (Para 3) |
| 3. witness testimonies and their relevance. (Para 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12) |
| 4. details of victim's age and incident timeline. (Para 7 , 8 , 19) |
| 5. court's reasoning regarding victim's testimony. (Para 20 , 21) |
| 6. conclusion and order of the court. (Para 22) |
JUDGMENT :
Sunder Mohan, J.
This Criminal Appeal has been filed by the sole accused, challenging the conviction and sentence imposed upon him for the offence under Section 5(l) r/w 6 of the POCSO Act vide judgment dated 28.12.2022 in Spl.SC.No.120 of 2019 on the file of the learned Sessions Judge, Special Court for POCSO Act Cases, Tiruvannamalai.
2 (i) The gist of the prosecution case is that on 09.04.2016 at about 5.00 a.m., when the victim girl aged 17 years went to pluck flowers in the neighbouring land, the appellant lured the victim girl pursuant to a love affair and on the promise of marriage, kidnapped the victim girl; that between 09.04.2016 and 11.04.2016, the appellant had tied 'thalli'
and made the victim believe that she is legally wedded to the appellant and committed penetrative sexual assault; a
Conviction under POCSO Act requires credible evidence; inconsistencies and potential tutoring in the victim's testimony can render a conviction unsafe.
The prosecution must prove the victim's age and circumstances of the alleged crime beyond a reasonable doubt; failure to do so results in acquittal.
The urgent need to curb diversionary tactics of the defence to circumvent the provisions of law and the presumption as to certain offences under Section 29 of POCSO Act.
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.
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