Court acquits youth in POCSO case

The Special Court Judge, Chandigarh, has acquitted a 24-year-old youth of Hallomajra booked in a case under the POCSO Act after the prosecution failed to prove charges.

The police registered the case for the offences punishable under Sections 354D, 376 (2)(n), 377, IPC, and Section 6 of the POCSO Act, at the Sector 36 Police Station on February 8, 2022, on the complaint of the victim. She told the police that when she was 16 years of age, the accused used to stalk her. On April 12, 2021, the accused took her to hotel Amar Residency, Kajheri village, in Chandigarh and made physical relations with her on the promise of marriage. She alleged that the accused took her to different places and developed physical relations, again on the promise of marriage.

The accused’s counsel, Yadvinder Singh Sandhu, claimed that the accused was falsely implicated in the case. The victim has concealed her actual age and was not a minor at the time of alleged offence, he said, adding that the case was also registered after a considerable delay. After hearing of the arguments, the court acquitted the accused of the charges framed against him.