Delhi High Court Upholds Jail Term Of Man For Sexually Assaulting Minor

The Delhi High Court has upheld the 10 years rigorous imprisonment awarded to a man for sexually assaulting a minor girl, saying that the FSL report fully corroborates the allegations of the victim.

The high court said there were no major inconsistencies in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses - the victim and her parents - and the case was further strengthened by medical evidence.

“The prosecution has successfully proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, and therefore, this court does not find any ground to interfere with the impugned judgment of conviction and sentence. The conviction is upheld. The appeal is dismissed,” Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said.

The high court's verdict came while deciding the appeal by the convict who was held guilty of offences of aggravated sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and kidnapping under the Indian Penal Code.

“The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, in the present matter, fully corroborates the allegations made by the child victim. The FSL report leaves no room for doubt that the appellant (man) had committed the offence for which he was charged.

“Besides the FSL report, the prosecutrix supports the prosecution case in her statement under Section 164 of the CrPC and in her evidence before the court.

"As has been noted above, there are minor contradictions; they, though, do not suggest that the prosecution story is false. The prosecution has been successful in proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt,” it said.

According to the prosecution, in March 2014, the victim, aged between 11-12 years, was going to a public toilet when the accused met her on way. He took her to a shanty and raped her after which she became unconscious, it said, adding that when she regained consciousness, she was in a hospital.

The convict challenged the trial court's verdict claiming that it was bad in law and deserved to be set aside and that there were material contradictions in the evidence of prosecution witnesses.

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