POCSO case accused acquitted

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted an accused in a POCSO case, overturning his conviction and 20-year sentence by a Jalandhar court.

The Bench ruled the prosecution failed to prove the victim was a minor at the time of the incident. It held that reliance on a school record based on an unverified chowkidar’s report did not meet evidentiary standards under the provisions of the Indian Evidence Act. Granting the benefit of the doubt, the court concluded the prosecutrix was likely a major and capable of consenting.

Taking up the appeal, the Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Kuldeep Tiwari highlighted the decisive role of medical evidence in criminal trials. The Bench emphasised that independent medical testimony served as an objective corroboration tool, often resolving ambiguities in cases reliant on circumstantial or inconsistent evidence. Advocates Rajiv Joshi, Harshit Singla and Nikhil Chopra appeared for the accused in the matter. The Bench was also assisted by Viren Sibal as amicus curiae.

The Bench said the prosecution’s inability to substantiate the victim’s age, coupled with contradictions in injury patterns, weakened its case.