Absence Of Witnesses Not Ground To Exonerate Accused In POCSO Case If Survivor's Testimony Reliable: Meghalaya High Court
1 year, 9 months ago

Absence Of Witnesses Not Ground To Exonerate Accused In POCSO Case If Survivor's Testimony Reliable: Meghalaya High Court

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The Meghalaya High Court has recently ruled that the absence of witnesses in sexual assault cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act cannot be used as a justification to exonerate the accused in such cases, if survivor's testimony is reliable. A Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh while dispelling the notion that uncorroborated allegations and complete denials by the accused in such cases should automatically discredit the survivor's account observed, “It is time to completely discredit a routine line of defence often taken by an accused facing a charge of rape or sexual assault. The High Court deemed the case to be straightforward and indisputable, given the survivor's clear and credible statement, supported by medical evidence, and the absence of any errors in the trial court's order and proceedings. Thus, when the survivor is a child of, say, up to 11-12 years of age, unless the court finds the child to be precocious enough to make out a story and consistently repeat the same, the fact that there may not have been any witness to the incident of sexual assault may not, by itself, let the accused off the hook."

History of this topic

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