Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court set aside the conviction and life imprisonment of an appellant in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) case after finding contradiction between the alleged date of rape and the medical evidence concerning the victim's pregnancy.
A Division Bench of Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Shamima Jahan, while hearing an appeal (Crl.A./296/2025), held that the prosecution had failed to establish the appellant's guilt beyond the evidence available on record.
The appellant in the case had challenged a judgement dated April 22, 2025, passed by the Special Judge, Udalguri, in Special (POCSO) Case No. 32/2022. The trial court had convicted him under Section 376(3) of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act and imposed rigorous imprisonment for life along with a fine of Rs 20,000.
The prosecution's case was that the alleged rape took place on April 11, 2017, and the minor victim stated that she became pregnant as a result of the incident. The victim also stated that she was 16 years old at the relevant point.
However, in terms of the doctor's evidence, he had medically examined the victim on October 18, 2017. As per the ultrasonography done on the abdomen of the victim, a live foetus of 35 and 2 days was found in the womb of the victim. As the victim had alleged that she had been raped by the appellant on April 11, 2017, she could not have gotten pregnant as a result in the month of February, 2017, i.e., around 2 months prior to the date of the incident. The bench noted that the victim's pregnancy in February 2017 and the rape allegation on April 11, 2017, meant the appellant could not have raped her.
The bench noted that there was no evidence that the appellant had assaulted the victim on any other date that could explain the pregnancy. The bench ruled the victim's parents' statements untrustworthy because they claimed the rape caused the victim's pregnancy, a claim contradicted by medical evidence.
The bench stated, "When the medical evidence with regard to the live foetus proved that the victim had become pregnant in February 2017, her testimony that she had been raped by the appellant in April 2017, which led to her being pregnant, turns out to be false."
The bench also considered evidence from a proposed DNA test. The record showed that the appellant had sought DNA testing, but the test could not establish paternity because the available blood samples were insufficient for a proper finding.
The HC ultimately held that the prosecution had not proved the appellant's guilt and found the trial court's judgement unsustainable.
"Consequently, the impugned judgement is hereby set aside. The appellant is accordingly acquitted of the charges framed against him under Section 376(3) IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act," the bench ruled.
Allowing the appeal, the bench directed that the appellant be released from judicial custody immediately if he was not required in any other case.
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