Chandigarh: Man acquitted in POCSO case

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 14

Judge, Fast Track Special Court, Swati Sehgal has acquitted an accused arrested in a three-year-old POCSO case after the prosecutrix turned hostile during hearings.

The police have arrested the accused on a complaint of a 12-year-old minor girl. According to the prosecution, in the complaint filed before the police, the prosecutrix alleged that the son of her aunt used to do wrongful act with her when she stayed with them from April to June 2019.

She was living in a jhuggi with her parents but after the death of her father in 2019, her mother eloped with a man.

She started living with her “bua” in the same locality. She alleged that her son started molesting her. The police arrested the accused under sections 376 (2) (n), 376 (2) (f) and 376 (3) of the IPC and sections of the POCSO Act in December 2019. The police filed a chargesheet and the court framed charges against the accused to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed a trial.

The counsel for the accused, SK Khurcha, argued that the prosecution failed to prove charges against the accused. He said that prosecutrix had not supported the case of the prosecution during hearings and resiled from her statements given before the police. There was no medical evidence on record to link the accused with the alleged incident. He said the police registered the FIR after the delay of six months of the alleged incident.

After hearing of the arguments, the judge said the prosecution had miserably failed to bring home the essential ingredient of any of the offences punishable under section 376 (2) (n), 376 (2) (f), 376 (3) of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act, beyond any shadow of reasonable doubt. Consequently, the accused stood acquitted for the charges framed against him.

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