The Chhattisgarh High Court has acquitted a man convicted of repeated rape under the Pocso Act, citing a lack of evidence to prove that the survivor was a minor, and also noting that she was “habituated to sexual intercourse”. It also pointed out that the relationship was “consensual”.Justice Arvind Kumar Verma observed that the prosecution failed to establish the victim’s minor age, and noted that both medical evidence and witness testimony suggested the intercourse was consensual, Live Law reported.advertisementThe man, who had been in jail for nearly six years and was charged under Section 376(2)(n) of the IPC for repeated rape and Section 6 of the Pocso Act for sexual assault of a minor, was therefore ordered to be released.CASE BACKGROUNDThe case dates back to July 2018, when the victim’s father filed a missing complaint claiming that his daughter had left home on July 8 to visit her grandmother but did not return. Later, it was found that she had left with the man, and both were located together on July 18.Based on the complaint, a charge sheet was filed, and the trial court convicted the man under the IPC and Pocso provisions.COURT OBSERVATIONSHowever, the Chhattisgarh High Court found gaps in the prosecution’s evidence regarding the victim’s age. The date of birth recorded in the school register — April 10, 2001 — was unsupported by primary documentation or ossification tests. The victim herself stated her birthdate was April 10, 2000, contradicting the prosecution’s claim, as per the report.advertisementThe court held that school admission records alone, without the testimony of the person who made the entry, was weak evidence, citing a 2011 Supreme Court ruling.The court also noted the victim’s statement confirming that she “willingly left” with the man and had asked him to take her away, threatening suicide otherwise, LiveLaw reported. She said they stayed together in a hotel and engaged in consensual intercourse. Medical examination also revealed no injuries and confirmed that the victim was “habitual of sexual intercourse”.The court said, “She is a consenting party and even Doctor PW-09, in her deposition, has stated that she did not find any external or internal injuries on the body of the victim as well as on her private part. The secondary sexual organs were fully developed, and the prosecutrix was habitual of sexual intercourse”.Given the lack of “legally admissible evidence” regarding the victim’s age and the “consensual” nature of the relationship, the High Court quashed the trial court’s conviction.”He is released forthwith, if not required in any other case,” the Chhattisgarh High Court ordered. in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. 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The High Court has cleared a rape suspect of charges, stating that the victim was ‘accustomed to sexual activities’.
