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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
N.ANAND VENKATESH, P.DHANABAL
Kalidoss – Appellant
Versus
State Rep. by the Inspector of Police, Aranthangi All Women Police Station – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
P. DHANABAL, J.
1. This Criminal Appeal has been preferred by the appellant as against the judgment of conviction and sentence passed in Special SC No.22 of 2017 by the Sessions Judge, Mahila Court, Pudukkottai, dated 03/01/2023.
2. The accused was charged for the offences under Section 4 of POCSO Act and Section 506(i) IPC. The Trial Court found the accused guilty, convicted and sentenced him to undergo Life Imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs.2,00,000/-, in default to undergo one year RI for the offence under Section 4 of POCSO Act, 2012 and also convicted him and sentenced to undergo 2 years RI and imposed a fine of Rs.10,000/- in default to undergo 1 year RI for the offence under Section 506(ii) IPC and the sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Aggrieved by the said judgment of conviction and sentence, the present appeal has been preferred by the accused as appellant.
3. The case of the prosecution is that the victim girl was aged about 16 years and studying 12th Standard in the year 2017. The date of the birth of the victim is 13/06/2001 and the victim girl used to go to the school in her bicycle. While so, on 19/07/2017, when she returned from the school in her
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.
Prosecution must establish victim's age and consent beyond reasonable doubt; reliance on unverified documents and lack of corroboration leads to acquittal in sexual assault cases.
The prosecution must prove the age of the victim under the POCSO Act; absence of verifiable evidence led to the acquittal due to reliance on untrustworthy testimony.
Prosecution failed to sufficiently prove the victim's age or the alleged offences, resulting in the acquittal of the accused due to insufficient evidence.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the reliance on school records, legal precedents, and medical evidence to establish the victim's age and prove the aggravated penetrative sexual as....
The conviction for sexual offences against minors can rely on circumstantial evidence and victim testimony, reinforced by medical reports, even amidst witness hostility.
The court affirmed that once foundational facts of sexual assault are established, the presumption of guilt under the POCSO Act applies, shifting the burden to the accused to prove otherwise.
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