IMPORTANT POINT
The judgment establishes the application of Sec. 114-A of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 to presume lack of consent in cases of rape, and emphasizes the importance of victim testimony, medical evidence, and DNA testing in establishing guilt.

JUDGMENT

1. This appeal is filed seeking to set aside the judgment dtd. 10/11/2021 in S.C.No.124 of 2017 on the file of Fast Track Special Judge for Trial of Cases Under POCSO Act -cum- IX Additional District and Sessions Judge (F.T.C.), Ranga Reddy District, L.B.Nagar, for the offences punishable under Ss. 376, 417 of I.P.C. and Sec. 3 read with Sec. 4 of POCSO Act.

2. Heard learned counsel for the appellant as well as Sri S.Ganesh, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondent.

3. The case of the prosecution is that six months prior to lodging the complaint, on the occasion of holidays to the college, in the absence of the mother of the victim/PW-2, in the afternoon the accused forcibly took the girl to his room and committed rape upon her and told her that he will marry the victim girl. Due to the deceitful assurance made by the accused, the victim girl kept calm. Thereafter, the accused, frequently, participated in sexual intercourse with the victim girl, resulting the victim girl became three months pregnant by the time of registering the case against the accused. The de facto complainant/mother of the victim girl noticed the abdomen of the victim girl. On enquiry, victim girl informed to the mother that the accused forcibly raped her and subsequently, he had sexual intercourse with her. Basing on the complaint given by the mother of the victim/PW-2 a case was registered against the accused for the offences punishable under Ss. 376, 417 of the I.P.C and Sec. 3(1) r/w. Sec. 4 of the POCSO Act and was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of seven years and to pay fine of Rs.5,000.00 and further he was convicted for the offences punishable under Ss. 5 and 6 of the POCSO Act and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of twenty years and to pay fine of Rs.5,000.00 and in view of the provisions of Sec. 6(2) of the POCSO Act, the accused was sentenced only to pay a fine of Rs.5,000.00 imposed for the offence under Sec. 6 of the POCSO Act and the same was directed to be paid to complainant/PW-1.

4. It is relevant to mention that the victim girl gave birth to male child on 26/8/2015, and after completion of D.N.A. test, the child died due to ill health on 29/2/2016.

5. It is the contention of the learned counsel for the appellant that the trial Court ought not to have accepted the version of the prosecution and ought to have seen that PW-1 was having illegal contact with the accused regularly but she has not given complaint to anyone nor informed to her mother/PW2 and that there was an abnormal delay in preferring the complaint/Ex.P1 before the Police.

6. It is further contended by the learned counsel for the appellant that the present complaint was given as the accused did not fulfill the promise of marrying the victim girl and Ex.P-7 bonafide certificate of PW-1 has been created by the prosecution to attract the said offence and prayed to set aside the conviction imposed by the trial Court.

7. On the other hand, the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor contended that the victim is a minor and aged 16 years as on the date of the incident and being the innocent girl, she has not even informed the facts to the mother and the fact has come into light when the girl became pregnant, which was being noticed by the de facto complainant and as the crime committed by the appellant is heinous one, therefore, prayed to confirm the judgment of the trial Court.

8. Perused the record.

9. Basing on the oral and documentary evidence on record, the trial Court has framed the following point for consideration:-

"Whether the prosecution did prove the guilt of the accused, beyond all reasonable doubt, for the offence under Ss. 3 and 5 of the POCSO Act, punishable under Ss. 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act.?"

10. PW-2 is the de facto complainant who preferred report before the police. PW-1 is the victim girl who stated in her evidence that when her mother went out for selling mirrors and combs, she was a