Failure to disprove the accusations leads to conviction under the POCSO Act despite absence of physical evidence.

JUDGMENT :

G.K. ILANTHIRAIYAN, J.

1. This appeal is directed as against the Judgment passed in Spl.S.C.No.59 of 2025 on the file of the Principal Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases under POCSO Act, Madurai dated 17.05.2024, thereby convicted the appellant for the offences punishable under Section 5 (l) r/w Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (in short hereinafter referred to as 'the POCSO Act'), 5(n) r/w of the POCSO Act and under Section 506 (PART I) of IPC.

2. The case of the prosecution was that when the victim girl was studying in the 7^th standard at the age of 12, the accused was not regularly employed and, as a result, his wife was working in a private garment firm. Her working hours were from 08.00 a.m. to 06.30 p.m. The victim girl used to return home from school at about 05.00 p.m. While being so, on 24.11.2022, when the mother of the victim girl came home after finishing her work as usual, she found her daughter’s panties lying rolled up in the room and questioned her as to why she had kept the undergarment in the hall instead of the bathroom. Immediately, the victim girl began to cry and told her mother that when she returned home from school, her father/the accused herein, had hugged her from behind and compelled her to remove all her clothes. Thereafter he had committed penetrative sexual assault on her. He also threatened to beat her to death if she disclosed the incident to anyone. Immediately thereafter, she was taken to a doctor and medically examined. Subsequently, the wife of the accused went to the respondent police and lodged a complaint seeking appropriate action as against the accused. On receipt of the same, the respondent registered the FIR in Crime No.20 of 2022 for the offences punishable under Section 5 (l) r/w Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 5(n) r/w of the POCSO Act and under Section 506 (PART I) of IPC. After completion of investigation, the respondent filed a final report and the same has been taken cognizance by the Trial Court.

3. During trial in order to bring the charges to home, the prosecution had examined P.W.1 to P.W.13 and Exs.P1 to P.20 were marked. On the side of the appellant no one was examined and no documents were produced before the Trial Court.

4. On perusal of the oral and documentary evidence the Trial Court found the accused guilty for the offences punishable under Section 5 (l) r/w Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 5(n) r/w of the POCSO Act and under Section 506 (PART I) of IPC. He was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of natural life of the accused for the offences under (l) r/w of the POCSO Act and 5(n) r/w of the POCSO Act and was imposed with the fine of Rs.25,000/-, in default, to undergo two months Simple Imprisonment. He was also sentenced to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of two years and was imposed with the fine of Rs.5,000/-, in default, to undergo three months Simple Imprisonment for the offence under Section 506 (PART I) of I.P.C. Aggrieved by the same, the present appeal has been filed.

5. The learned counsel appearing for the appellant submitted that the defacto complainant is none other than the wife of the appellant. Due to family disputes, she allegedly tutored their own daughter and lodged a false complaint against her own husband. The victim girl was subjected to medical examination. The forensic scientist, who was examined as P.W.7, deposed that during the medical examination no semen was detected and there were no injuries on the genitalia of the victim. Therefor