Tennis coach accused of rape acquitted, court says victim continued to receive coaching from him even after alleged incident Tennis coach accused of rape acquitted, court says victim continued to receive coaching from him even after alleged incident – ..

A special POCSO court in Maharashtra has honorably acquitted a 40-year-old tennis coach facing serious charges of allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student and impregnating her. The court clarified in its judgment that after the alleged incident, the victim continuing to train normally with the same coach and behaving without any complaint casts deep doubt on the prosecution’s claims. Special Judge Premal S. Passing the historic order, Vithalani said that in law no one can be convicted merely on the basis of sensitivity of the allegations.

What was the whole matter? The dispute started from the housing society of Navi Mumbai.

According to the documents presented in the court by the prosecution, this entire dispute dates back to the year 2023. A minor student studying in Class 9 had accused her tennis coach, a resident of Navi Mumbai, of forcibly sexually assaulting her twice near the tennis court of a housing society in Thane during August and September 2023. The matter became public in October 2023 when the victim complained of severe abdominal pain, following which a medical scan confirmed her to be seven weeks pregnant and she later underwent an abortion.

The court enumerated 3 main reasons behind the acquittal: Questions raised on the credibility of the testimony

The special court presented three main legal grounds behind its decision acquitting the accused of all serious charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the POCSO Act:

• General conduct after the incident: The court took on record that the victim is a student of an international school, where detailed sex education related to ‘good touch-bad touch’ and reporting of sexual harassment is imparted. Despite this, even after the alleged incident, she continued to take coaching from the same coach without any mental stress or complaint, which is contrary to a normal human conduct.

• Complete lack of scientific and solid evidence: The investigating agency failed to produce any solid forensic or technical evidence in the case. The DNA Profiling report of the aborted fetus remained completely vague, due to which the biological relationship of the accused could not be proved. Apart from this, no suspicious activity was recorded in the CCTV footage of the housing society.

• Serious deficiencies in investigation: During the investigation, the police did not record the statements of classmates and friends who were present at the time of the alleged incident.

Special comment on Section 29 of POCSO: No legal presumption is absolute

Judge Premal S. Vithalani propounded a very important legal principle while interpreting Section 29 (Presumption of Guilt) of the POCSO Act. He clarified that the presumption of guilt of the accused under Section 29 of POCSO is not absolute or final and it can be refuted by concrete facts. The Court said that this legal presumption becomes active only when the prosecution first proves its basic facts and primary evidence beyond reasonable doubt. The prosecution completely failed to lay a strong foundation in this case.

Punishment is not possible only on the basis of seriousness of allegations: Court’s final message

In concluding its judgment, the court laid special emphasis on the fact that the justice system cannot function only on emotions or sensitivity of the allegations. The court said that it is fully aware of the fact that very serious allegations of sexual assault were made against a minor. But the seriousness of the allegations alone cannot be a criterion for sending a person behind bars, unless those allegations are proved with irrefutable evidence before the standards laid down by law.