O R D E R

The petitioner is the sold accused in Crime No. 92/2019 of Mannarkkad Police Station, which has been registered for offence punishable under Secs. 7 & 8 of POCSO Act .

2. The brief of the prosecution case is that 3 months prior to 4.12.2017 (date of submission of FI statement by the victim girl), when the minor victim girl aged 12 years had gone to the shop of the accused for purchase of grocery, the accused called her inside and touched her private parts and she had rushed out of the shop and went to the home and thereby the petitioner has committed the abovesaid offence.

3. The case set up by the petitioner is that the petitioner is a senior citizen aged 62 years and is running a grocery shop with his wife and son and that the allegations are falsely foisted against the petitioner and that the father of the victim girl, who is a drunkard, used to purchase grocery items from the shop of the petitioner on credit basis and when the credit had mounted above Rs. 10,000/- the accused had refused to give further credit. That again when the victim girl came to the shop to purchase on credit basis, the petitioner had driven her away saying that no more credit purchase will be per