Raipur
The High Court of Chhattisgarh acquitted a person after being convicted under rape and POCSO Act. The court said that there was not enough evidence of being a minor in the case and it was also believed that there was a consensus between the accused and the victim. The High Court reversed the lower court’s decision and released the accused.
Let me tell you that this case took place in 2018, when on July 12, the victim’s father lodged a report with the police. In the report, she said that her daughter had left the house on July 8 to meet her grandmother, but she did not reach there. After this, it was learned from the neighbors that the victim and the accused were seen together. The accused was missing since the same day and both were found together on 18 July.
The trial court, considering the ‘First Class Marksheet’ as proof in the case, assumed that the victim was a minor. The birth date of the victim was recorded on 10 April 2001 in this marksheet. Based on this, the accused was convicted under Section 376 (2) (n) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 6 of the POCSO Act. However, the accused challenged the decision in the High Court.
The Chhattisgarh High Court denied the evidence and said that it is not enough that the victim was a minor. The court also admitted that the victim and the accused had a consent sexual relations. The court also said that the doctor said in his report that no external or internal injury was found on the victim’s body and private organs. In addition, the doctor also said that the victim’s secondary sexual organ was fully developed, showing that she was accustomed to sexual relations. Finally, the Chhattisgarh High Court acquitted the accused, saying that the victim had agreed and the accused had already been sentenced to about six years. The court released the accused on this basis.
