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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
SUNDER MOHAN
Muniappan @ Bhavathi – Appellant
Versus
State rep. by The Inspector of Police, All Women Police Station – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
SUNDER MOHAN, J.
The Criminal Appeal challenges the judgment dated 27.03.2023 passed in Spl.S.C.No.37 of 2015 by the learned Sessions Judge, Fast Track Mahila Court, Dharmapuri, convicting the appellant/A1 for the offence under Section 307 of the IPC and sentencing him to undergo seven years rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.25,000/-, in default to suffer six months simple imprisonment.
2. (i) The case of the prosecution is that the appellant, arrayed as A1 before the trial Court had illicit relationship with A2, (who has been acquitted by the trial Court); that the victim, aged about 3 years, is the daughter of A2 born out of the wedlock with PW2, the defacto complainant; that whenever A2 met the appellant, she took the minor child along with her; that on those occasions, the appellant committed penetrative sexual assault by applying his finger on the private part of the victim; that A2 had abetted the commission of the said offence; that the appellant had twisted the arms and legs of the victim child and had caused fracture to the legs of the victim girl, and thus, committed the aforesaid offences.
(ii) PW2, the father of the victim girl [PW1] had lodged a co
Prosecution must establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt; reliance on a single, inconsistent witness is insufficient for conviction in serious offenses.
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 court held that a conviction under sexual assault charges must rest on credible evidence, finding the testimonies in this case to be influenced by personal motives and thus unreliable.
In criminal cases involving consent, the conviction may be overturned if there is a reasonable mistake of fact regarding the victim's age, absolving the accused under Section 79 IPC.
The conviction under the POCSO Act was overturned due to insufficient corroborative evidence and inconsistencies in the victim's testimony, leading to the appellant's acquittal.
The court upheld the conviction for rape under IPC, emphasizing that a reliable witness's testimony can suffice for conviction, despite procedural irregularities.
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