High Court acquitted POCSO accused, said – minor had gone on her own free will, it is important to look at the circumstances

Bureau Prayagraj- Chhattisgarh High Court has given a big message by giving an important decision in a famous POCSO case related to Mungeli district. The court clearly said that in any case the accused cannot be held guilty merely on the basis of the age of the victim, but an impartial assessment of the entire incident, evidence and circumstances is necessary. On this basis, the High Court considered the trial court’s decision inconsistent and acquitted the accused Deepak Vaishnav. The court held that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt.

This matter is of 13 September 2022. A minor girl from Mungeli district had left home to go to school, but did not return. Even after a lot of searching, when no trace of him was found, the father lodged a report in the police station. In the complaint, it was feared that some unknown person had seduced the daughter and taken her along with him.

After hearing the case, the Special POCSO Court, Mungeli had found accused Deepak Vaishnav guilty under sections 363 and 366 of the IPC as well as section 6 of the POCSO Act. The trial court had convicted the accused of a serious crime and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The lawyer appearing for the accused in the High Court argued that there was already contact between the victim and the accused. There was a conversation between the two on the phone and the girl herself decided to go with the accused. Both of them traveled to cities like Mungeli, Raipur, Hyderabad and Vijayawada and stayed together for about a month. The defense side said that there is no evidence of coercion, pressure or greed anywhere in the entire case.

The state government told the court that the victim was a minor, hence her consent has no legal significance. The accused has committed an offense by taking him away from the care of his parents, which is directly punishable under the POCSO Act.

After deeply reviewing the arguments of both the parties and the available evidence, the High Court clearly said that “carrying” and “going along” are two different things. The court held that the record does not prove that the accused forcibly or fraudulently removed the victim from the care of her parents. According to the court, if a girl goes with someone of her own free will, then the crime of kidnapping cannot be proved on this basis alone.

The court also took into consideration the medical examination and FSL report. There were no clear signs of forced sexual intercourse or violence in the reports. On this basis, the court held that the prosecution had failed to prove the serious allegations made against the accused with concrete evidence.

The court found that the victim was about 15 years and 10 months old at the time of the incident. She was definitely a minor, but the court also said that in every case, guilt cannot be decided only on the basis of age. Citing the earlier decisions of the Supreme Court, the High Court said that when the circumstances show that the victim had gone of her own free will and there was no coercion, then it is necessary to take special care in such cases.