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SANJIB BANERJEE, B. BHATTACHARJEE
Betstarling Basan – Appellant
Versus
State of Meghalaya – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
SANJIB BANERJEE, CJ.
1. The appellant was charged with the commission of an offence under Section 3 (a) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 for an incident that took place on November 20, 2012. The appellant claims that despite no evidence of penetration being produced, he has been convicted for rape. The additional ground canvassed is that the trial court completely altered the charges and added additional charges after the recording of the evidence was over.
2. Indeed, the appellant here made an application for cross-examining the prosecution witnesses upon the additional charges being framed. The appellant here contended that the last witness had been examined by the court on October 5, 2021 and it was only on December 8, 2021 that the trial court found it expedient to add charges under Section 375 read with Sections 354 , 354A and 354B of the INDIAN PENAL CODE , 1860 together with charges under Sections 7 and 8 of the Act of 2012 read with Sections 319 , 321 and 323 of the Penal Code. The application for further cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses was rejected by an order dated June 10, 2022, less than a fortnight before the matter w
The court affirmed that procedural irregularities do not invalidate convictions if no prejudice is shown, emphasizing the trial court's discretion in adding charges.
The conviction in sexual assault cases can be based solely on the victim's reliable testimony, irrespective of physical injury evidence.
Retrospective application of amended laws increasing penalties violates constitutional protections; original sentence modified to align with laws in effect at the time of the offence.
The court affirmed that a victim's credible testimony can suffice for conviction in sexual assault cases, despite procedural lapses in witness examination.
An act, which is legal at the time of commission cannot be made illegal by way of introduction of new enactment.
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