Karnataka High Court Upholds POCSO Acquittal: Case Background
The Karnataka High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by the State against the acquittal of a man who was tried for kidnapping and rape of a minor. A Division Bench comprising Justice Ashok S. Kinagi and Justice Subramanya declined to interfere with the trial court's verdict, holding that the prosecution had not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The accused had been charged under Sections 363 and 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The complainant was the girl's father. Jurisight has withheld details of the incident and the parties that could identify the survivor, as required by Section 23 of the POCSO Act.
Why did the Karnataka High Court uphold the POCSO acquittal?
The Bench held that the State had not shown compelling reasons to reverse the acquittal. It accepted the trial court's findings on the delay in lodging the complaint and the failure of independent panch witnesses to support the prosecution, and held that an acquittal strengthens the presumption of innocence in the accused's favour.
The court also relied on its assessment of the survivor's age and understanding at the time of the alleged incident. Readers should note that under the POCSO Act any person below 18 years is a child, and consent is not a defence to the offences the Act defines.
Appellate Scrutiny and Statutory Presumptions
The State argued that Section 29 of the POCSO Act raises a statutory presumption of guilt which the defence had failed to rebut. The High Court relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Jafarudheen and others v. State of Kerala, which holds that a trial court's acquittal reinforces the presumption of innocence and that an appellate court must be cautious before reversing it. This double presumption, the Bench noted, can be displaced only on settled legal parameters.
Finding no ground to interfere with the trial court's evaluation of the evidence, the High Court dismissed the appeal and confirmed the acquittal.