'Physical relations' does not imply sexual assault: Delhi High Court acquits man in POCSO case

The Delhi High Court recently acquitted a man serving life imprisonment on charges of rape and sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Penal Code [Sahjan Ali Through Parokar Banu Khatun v. State Through Sho Ps Madhu Vihar]..A Bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma observed that the survivor’s statement does not indicate sexual intercourse or sexual assault.“The survivor, in fact, used the phrase ‘physical relations’, but there is no clarity as to what she meant by using the said phrase. Even the use of the words ‘samband banaya’ is not sufficient to establish an offence under Section 3 of the POCSO Act or under Section 376 IPC. Though consent would not matter if the girl is a minor under the POCSO Act, the phrase ‘physical relations’ cannot be converted automatically into sexual intercourse let alone sexual assault,” the Court stated. .The Court noted that the minor did not categorically state that there was any sexual assault, and that there was no evidence to support such finding.“The fact that she voluntarily went with the Appellant is also not disputed. However, the leap from physical relations or samband to sexual assault and then to penetrative sexual assault is one which has to be established on record by means of evidence, and the same cannot be presumed or deduced as an inference."“In such cases, the benefit of doubt ought to be in favour of the accused,” the Court added..The case arose from a complaint filed by the minor girl’s mother that she had been lured and kidnapped from her home by an unknown person. The minor later told the police that there was a 'physical relationship' between them.On the basis of this statement, the trial court convicted the man and sentenced him to life imprisonment..On appeal, the High Court noted that in her cross-examination, the minor stated that the accused neither committed any physical assault upon her nor did he commit any wrong act with her. The medical examination revealed no external injuries or signs of an assault.It found that the trial court had not given any rationale for the conviction and award of life term. “It is thus unclear as to the manner in which the Trial Court came to the conclusion that there was any sexual assault by the Appellant. The mere fact that the survivor is below 18 years cannot lead to a conclusion that there was penetrative sexual assault,” the High Court stated while acquitting the accused..Advocates Yashvir Sethi, Amit Kumar Singh, Saksham Sethi, Pranav Sharma and Manan Soni appeared for the accused. Additional Public Prosecutor Ritesh Kumar Bahri with Advocates Lalit Luthra and Divya Yadav appeared for the State.The Delhi High Court was represented by standing counsel Dinesh Malik with Advocates Puneet Jain and Kiffi Aggarwal..[Read order]