High Court acquits 26-yr-old man in Pocso case, says alleged victim was major
Patna: Applying the “margin of error” doctrine to hold that the woman — the alleged rape victim — was a major on the date of the alleged crime, the Patna high court acquitted a 26-year-old man who had been sentenced to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 1 lakh after being convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
A division bench of Justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Soni Shrivastava allowed the criminal appeal of Md Quarban and delivered the judgment on Monday. A copy of the verdict came into the public domain on Tuesday.
The prosecution case was registered at Sabour police station in Bhagalpur on Dec 28, 2018, on allegations of kidnapping after the father of the girl lodged an FIR stating that his daughter, aged about 14 years, had been missing for the previous 15 days after leaving home for tuition.
During the investigation, the girl was recovered and, on the basis of her statement before a magistrate, Quarban was accused of kidnapping and raping her. She was allegedly a minor according to her educational certificate issued by the Bihar School Examination Board.
The allegation of rape was supported by medical examination, which confirmed that she was pregnant. The special POCSO court at Bhagalpur, by its judgment dated March 18, 2023, held Quarban guilty of raping a minor and awarded the aforesaid punishment by its sentencing order passed on March 22, 2023.
Quashing the special court’s verdict, the high court held that the prosecution had failed to prove its case because of the lack of reliable evidence establishing the victim’s minority. Radiological tests suggested her age was between 16 and 18 years.
The two judges applied the “margin of error” doctrine, which prescribes an error of plus or minus two years in medical age determination. On that basis, the victim was held to be between 18 and 20 years old, making her a major at the time of the alleged crime.
Disbelieving the victim’s testimony, which was contradicted by the evidence of her sister and father, the high court said the intercourse that resulted in pregnancy was “probably consensual”.
A division bench of Justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Soni Shrivastava allowed the criminal appeal of Md Quarban and delivered the judgment on Monday. A copy of the verdict came into the public domain on Tuesday.
The prosecution case was registered at Sabour police station in Bhagalpur on Dec 28, 2018, on allegations of kidnapping after the father of the girl lodged an FIR stating that his daughter, aged about 14 years, had been missing for the previous 15 days after leaving home for tuition.
During the investigation, the girl was recovered and, on the basis of her statement before a magistrate, Quarban was accused of kidnapping and raping her. She was allegedly a minor according to her educational certificate issued by the Bihar School Examination Board.
The allegation of rape was supported by medical examination, which confirmed that she was pregnant. The special POCSO court at Bhagalpur, by its judgment dated March 18, 2023, held Quarban guilty of raping a minor and awarded the aforesaid punishment by its sentencing order passed on March 22, 2023.
Quashing the special court’s verdict, the high court held that the prosecution had failed to prove its case because of the lack of reliable evidence establishing the victim’s minority. Radiological tests suggested her age was between 16 and 18 years.
The two judges applied the “margin of error” doctrine, which prescribes an error of plus or minus two years in medical age determination. On that basis, the victim was held to be between 18 and 20 years old, making her a major at the time of the alleged crime.
Disbelieving the victim’s testimony, which was contradicted by the evidence of her sister and father, the high court said the intercourse that resulted in pregnancy was “probably consensual”.
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