POCSO court acquits Worli man of rape and kidnap charges

This picture has been used for representational purposes

A 25-year-old man has been acquitted by the special POCSO court after Worli police failed to provide evidence in a kidnap and rape case. The accused, a resident of Worli, was arrested in December 2020 and has spent over one-and-a-half years in jail.

Special judge Priti Kumar Ghule, in her order, said, "The court has made a very harsh observation over the investigation carried out by the police and the credibility of the survivor who changed her statement from time to time. The statements of the complainant [minor's mother] are brought under doubt as she is not deposing truthfully."

It added, "The complainant has mentioned the age of her three daughters as 21, 20 and 16, respectively. The survivor also deposed that she has not gone to school at all. She does not know her date of birth. The oral evidence of the complainant and the survivor is silent on the date of birth. The investigating officer did not obtain the original birth certificate at the time of investigation or till the filing of the charge sheet nor did he conduct the ossification test to determine the age of the girl, which is rightly submitted by the defence as age is disputed."

The court has also noted that the girl was being told by police to say that she is a minor, so they can use the stringent sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

During the cross examinations, the survivor admitted that she is deposing in court that her age is 16 years because cops had told her to say so, before coming to the court. These circumstances and evidence show that she was not minor, the judge pointed out.

The court also noted that she falsely claimed she was forcibly taken in a taxi from Worli to Shivaji Park. The court observed that even as she was kidnapped she never drew anybody's attention at crowded Shivaji Park. It also added that she did not draw the attention of the taxi driver and has deposed that the accused kept a handkerchief on her mouth when they were in a taxi to prevent her from speaking.

The court stated, "It is seen that the victim changes her stand from time to time. Her statement before police makes clear that no physical relation was established by the accused at Wadule.

Defence lawyer Ajay Harish Lad said, "It is now proven that my client is innocent and he was being falsely framed. The legislator should bring amendments in the law and the compensation should be given post-verdict."