Court acquits man of charge of sexually assaulting his minor son

New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) A court here has acquitted a man of the charge of committing aggravated sexual assault on his minor son, saying the accused cannot be convicted solely on the unreliable testimony of the child.

Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar Gautam was hearing the case against the father who was charged under Section 10 (punishment for aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

According to the prosecution, the man had touched the private parts of his son with sexual intent on July 17, 2022 in the children’s room inside a court complex here.

In a recent order, the court acquitted the father and said, "The story projected by the victim fails to inspire the confidence of this court and the accused cannot be convicted solely on the unreliable testimony of the child victim without corroboration from independent evidence." The court said the child's testimony about his father molesting him in the room was not corroborated by independent witnesses, the room-in-charge, or other parents present there.

It said the child’s statement about his father’s "inappropriate touch" during his cross-examination was contradictory to his earlier statement where he said that at the time of the alleged incident he was playing with other children and his father was annoying him from a distance.

"The testimony of the child victim also appears to be unbelievable as there is improvement in his statement given at the time of deposition in the court. His testimony that there was a desk and his father touched at different places on his leg is an improvement from his earlier statement," the court said.

It noted the accused’s submission about his matrimonial dispute and that his wife had filed a false case against him to deny him their son’s guardianship.

"Considering that there is improvement in the testimony of the child victim and that the child victim in his deposition has also made further statement against the accused which was not asked for only goes to suggest that there is a high probability that the child victim might be tutored for giving a particular statement against the accused with a particular motive…," the court said.

Noting the evidence before it, the court said, "The accused was having love and affection not only towards the child victim but also towards the daughter of the complainant (his wife) from her previous marriage." It said other reasons which created doubt over the prosecution’s case included the alleged victim not feeling uncomfortable meeting his father even after the case was registered.

It said the behaviour of the child victim did not change after the alleged incident nor was he adversely affected or traumatised.

The prosecution, the court concluded, was unable to prove the case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt. PTI MNR MNR SK SK