After the victim refused to assist the prosecution case, the POCSO accused was acquitted; the trial court ordered legal action against the victim. The prosecution provided a birth certificate to show the victim's age, but the Court ruled that because it was not accompanied by testimony from the victim, it could not be considered complete proof evidence to maintain that the victim was a child. After the lady said that she did not want to continue against the accused, a Special Court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) recently acquitted a man accused of raping her (State of Maharashtra v. Jacob Muthuswami Naidu).
As a result, the Special Judge decided to acquit the accused of charges under Section 376 (2) (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and the POCSO Act. He also ordered the prosecution to pursue legal action against the witness who, in the prosecution's opinion, has failed to assist their case. The argument was that the 17-year-old minor met the accused in January 2019 and was invited to the accused's home where he proposed to her after a few meetings. The duo went on to have a physical connection later on. The victim's menses were missing in March of this year. However, she assumed it was because she was suffering from jaundice and took no action. She later found out she was 24 weeks pregnant in June 2019. The victim's mother filed a police report with the Santacruz Police Department. In addition, the victim said that she had never made a police report. She said that she married Naidu in October and that they have a daughter together. She made it plain that she had no beef with Naidu and that she did not want the lawsuit against him to go forward. Her mother, too, lost her support for the lawsuit as a result of this.
The prosecution provided a birth certificate in support of the victim's age, but the Court noted that because it was not backed up by testimony from the star witnesses, it could not be considered complete proof that the victim was a juvenile at the time. As a result, the Court determined that the prosecution had failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim was a child at the time of the crime, and therefore the POCSO Act offenses could not be prosecuted.
Tags : #Sexual Assault #POCSO Cases #Mumbai Sessions Court #Dindoshi City Civil Court
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