A special POCSO court has acquitted a 35-year-old father who was arrested in 2022 based on a complaint of sexual assault filed by his minor daughter. The court observed that neither the victim nor her mother said anything incriminating against the accused during the trial.
The Initial Allegations
As per the prosecution case, the complaint was lodged by the victim girl with the Kandivali police station. She alleged that her mother works as a maid while her father is an alcoholic. At the time of the incident, the girl was in the 6th standard.
The girl alleged that, prior to four to five days of the Ganpati festival, her father came home after consuming liquor. Her mother was not present in the house. He latched the door, threatened her to remove her clothes, and sexually assaulted her. The girl claimed that the accused threatened to kill her if she told anyone.
The Complaint is Lodged
The girl further alleged that two days later, the accused again called her to sleep next to him, but her mother was at home. She claimed that her mother was in the bathroom and heard her cry. When her mother confronted her, the girl revealed the alleged sexual assault by the accused on multiple occasions. The mother and daughter later lodged the case against the accused with the Kandivali police station.
Contradictory Court Testimony
However, during her testimony in court, the victim gave a different account. She claimed that as she and her brothers were watching mobile phones instead of studying, the accused had beaten them. Even when the mother tried to intervene, the accused continued to beat them, which is why they went to the police station. She made no mention of the sexual assault allegedly done by the accused.
The Defence's Argument and Acquittal
Advocates Suvarna Avhad Vast and Rahul Dingankar argued that the testimony of the victim and her mother did not support the allegation of sexual assault. The defence also argued that the medical evidence did not support the prosecution's case.
The court noted that the victim's mother also denied the fact that her husband committed a bad act with her daughter. Her evidence was not supportive of the prosecution case. Besides, the court noted that the medical report stated there were no internal or external injuries on the private part of the victim. With no corroborative evidence, the court acquitted the father.
