Mumbai: Court reverses man’s conviction, 2 year sentence in POCSO case

Mumbai: Court reverses man’s conviction, 2 year sentence in POCSO case

“True it is that dignity of a woman is to be protected at any cost, but that itself do not absolve the prosecution of establishing its case beyond reasonable doubt," the court said.

Urvi MahajaniUpdated: Monday, April 17, 2023, 09:34 PM IST
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True it is that the dignity of a woman is to be protected at any cost, but that itself does not absolve the prosecution of establishing its case beyond a reasonable doubt, observed the Bombay High Court while quashing the conviction of a man by special Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (Pocso) Court for intentionally assaulting his minor girlfriend in a public place, as she wanted to end their relationship

While setting aside the conviction, Justice Bharati Dangre observed: “True it is that dignity of a woman is to be protected at any cost, but that itself do not absolve the prosecution of establishing its case beyond reasonable doubt and, since the prosecution has miserably failed to discharge the burden cast on it, the benefit must necessarily go to the accused.”

The HC was hearing an appeal filed by a 22-year-old man, through his advocate Sunil Pandey, challenging his conviction and 2-year sentence by the special court.

On November 22, 2022, the special court found him guilty for offences punishable under sections 354 (outraging modesty of the woman) and 354-A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sentenced him to 2 years in prison. The trial in the case was concluded within three months.

According to the prosecution, the 17-year-old victim and the accused had been in a relationship for two years before the first-hand report was registered at Colaba police station in February 2022. The teen wanted to end the relationship after she learnt that the man had been in jail earlier. He had insisted that they meet one last time and had then assaulted her in the presence of her friends near Haji Ali and Churchgate. He was forcefully taking her to Gateway of India when her uncle arrived and she lodged a complaint against him.

Advocate Pandey contended that the man was falsely implicated in the case. He further said that there was no direct evidence and also the victim had contradicted herself in cross-examination.

The court noted that the victim admitted in her cross-examination that she had known the accused for two and half years, they were in a relationship and often used to meet. It further noted that the victim’s deposition is “full of commissions” and, therefore, “the case of the prosecution loses its credibility to great extent and calls for close scrutiny of the victim’s version”.

Also, the victim’s friend, who was with them testified that no incident took place in her presence. “She did not support the victim’s otherwise inconsistent version,” added the court.

“The testimony of the prosecution witnesses, including the complainant herself, has clearly created a huge dent in the prosecution case,” said Justice Dangre adding: “The occurrence of the incident itself is doubtful and the special judge has fallen in grave error in not accepting the fact that the two were in a relationship.”

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