Court acquits man accused of molesting minor girl, cites lack of evidence

Thane, Sep 18 (PTI) A court in Thane has acquitted a man accused of molesting a minor girl in 2021, highlighting discrepancies in the prosecution's case, including failure to prove the victim's age and a lack of corroborating evidence.

Special Judge Ruby U Malvankar, in the order on September 12, found Akash Santosh Kolhe (32), not guilty of offences under Indian Penal Code Section 354 (molestation) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

A copy of the order was received on Wednesday.

The case was registered on December 17, 2021.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the girl, then aged 17, had gone to an open space near a bus stop with her younger sister to use a toilet.

The younger sibling later returned alone and informed their mother that the accused had approached the victim from back, dragged her and molested her.

The family later approached the police and the FIR was registered.

Judge Malvankar pointed out several major flaws in the prosecution's evidence.

A crucial requirement for a POCSO Act case is to establish that the victim is a "child" (aged under 18).

The court found the prosecution failed to provide any credible proof of the victim's age.

"In this case, though the victim prosecution witness in her testimony stated her date of birth to be 1.9.2005, however, no birth certificate or any other authentic documentary evidence substantiating the same has been produced on record by the prosecution," the judge said.

The prosecution also did not present any independent witnesses who could verify the school-leaving certificate, which the investigation officer mentioned, the judge noted.

The court highlighted the inconsistencies between the victim's testimony and the FIR.

The victim stated in the court that the incident took place in an enclosed public toilet, a detail that was contradicted by the FIR and the spot panchnama (inspection), which described an open space with shrubs.

Furthermore, the prosecution failed to recover key evidence.

"The clothes of the victim do not appear to have been seized by the police. The rope allegedly used by the accused has also not been recovered. The FIR does not make a mention of any use of rope by the accused while committing the alleged act. Hence, there is an apparent discrepancy in the description of the alleged act as narrated by the victim with that mentioned in the FIR," the judge said.

The court noted that the investigation suffered from "inherent lacunae".

A critical prosecution witness, the victim's younger sister, who was reportedly present at the scene, was not examined.

"Incidentally, the prosecution does not appear to have examined the eyewitness in this case, who had herself seen the accused committing the alleged act with the victim, and that creates a bigger lacuna in the case of the prosecution," the court observed.

Additionally, the court found the testimony of the panch witness to be unreliable, as he admitted to having prior acquaintance with the investigation officer and had acted as a panch in other cases.

Given these significant doubts, the court concluded that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Hence, the accused was given the benefit of doubt and was acquitted. PTI COR GK