Thane court acquits man accused of sexually assaulting minor girl

Thane, Sep 3 (PTI) A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted a man accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl in January this year, as the victim and her mother turned hostile.

Special judge V A Patravale, for POCSO cases at the sessions court in Kalyan, gave the 19-year-old man benefit of doubt.

She held the prosecution could not prove charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, leading to the accused's acquittal.

A copy of the August 25 order was made available on Wednesday.

The man was arrested on January 16 following a First Information Report (FIR) registered based on a complaint by the victim's mother.

The complaint alleged that on January 15, the man sexually assaulted the girl at his home in Dombivli, where she and her friend used to take tuition classes from his sister.

The accused's sister was not at home at the time of the incident, as per the FIR.

It also stated the victim told her mother that the man took her to his bedroom and had "sexual intercourse against the order of nature".

The victim's mother claimed her daughter was frightened and unable to raise an alarm as the man had pressed her mouth.

The court heard evidence from four prosecution witnesses: the victim, her mother, medical officer Dr Vinit Chafekar and investigation officer Rupali Karkande.

In her judgment, Judge Patravale noted the victim' and her mother did not support the prosecution's case.

The victim's mother testified that "nothing happened with her" (daughter) and that her daughter "did not tell her anything". She denied contents of the FIR, despite confirming her signature.

Similarly, the victim stated she "does not know about the incident, she does not remember anything," and even refused to identify the accused.

"Since both the material witnesses did not support the prosecution case, none of the witnesses has admitted any incriminating fact against the accused," the court noted.

While Dr Chafekar testified that he found a "thin tear" in the victim's anal area, his cross-examination revealed a significant doubt.

"He has admitted that the anal tear is possible due to constipation and passing of hard stool," the court said.

The prosecution failed to provide evidence from a surgeon or paediatrician, despite the doctor's referral for such opinions. This, the court found, weakened the medical testimony's conclusiveness.

The judge concluded that Dr Chafekar's evidence "does not conclusively state about the sexual intercourse against the order of nature".

The court also observed there was no other witness, as the victim's friend had been in the living room and the victim hadn't told her anything.

Apart from the testimony of the hostile witnesses and the inconclusive medical report, there was "no other evidence, either ocular or scientific, to support the prosecution case," it noted.

Based on the lack of satisfactory evidence, the court concluded the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

"If any doubt arises and it is not removed by leading satisfactory evidence, the benefit of doubt needs to be given to the accused," the judge said.

The man, who spent seven months and nine days in detention during the trial, was released after the verdict. PTI COR GK