RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh high court has acquitted a 24-year-old man in a Pocso Act case, noting that age of the girl and consent are not clear.
A division bench of Justices Rajani Dubey and Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal observed that the accused was entitled to acquittal "on the principle of benefit of doubt".
A Pocso court had sentenced him to 20-year imprisonment in 2019 and he has been behind the bars since. HC has ordered his immediate release if he is not wanted in any other case.
According to prosecution, on June 30, 2019, a girl filed a complaint, accusing the man, her neighbour, of repeatedly threatening and raping her.
She alleged that he barged into her house in Oct 2015 and raped her for the first time and then continued to engage in physical relations with her under coercion. She confided in her family on June 30, 2019, leading them to approach police.
During investigation, she was medically examined and witness statements were collected.
Evidence was sent for forensic examination. Based on this, charges were framed and the trial court on Dec 24, 2019, convicted the accused of repeatedly raping a girl aged below 16 years.
The man challenged his conviction. His counsel cited inconsistencies in witness testimonies and argued that the prosecution had failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. They asserted that the girl was a consenting party and questioned her reported age, challenging the assertion that she was a minor at the time of the alleged crimes.
A division bench of Justices Rajani Dubey and Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal observed that the accused was entitled to acquittal "on the principle of benefit of doubt".
A Pocso court had sentenced him to 20-year imprisonment in 2019 and he has been behind the bars since. HC has ordered his immediate release if he is not wanted in any other case.
According to prosecution, on June 30, 2019, a girl filed a complaint, accusing the man, her neighbour, of repeatedly threatening and raping her.
She alleged that he barged into her house in Oct 2015 and raped her for the first time and then continued to engage in physical relations with her under coercion. She confided in her family on June 30, 2019, leading them to approach police.
During investigation, she was medically examined and witness statements were collected.
Evidence was sent for forensic examination. Based on this, charges were framed and the trial court on Dec 24, 2019, convicted the accused of repeatedly raping a girl aged below 16 years.
The man challenged his conviction. His counsel cited inconsistencies in witness testimonies and argued that the prosecution had failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. They asserted that the girl was a consenting party and questioned her reported age, challenging the assertion that she was a minor at the time of the alleged crimes.
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