Uttaranchal High Court: Ramesh Chandra Khulbe, J. dismissed a criminal appeal which was filed from jail assailing the judgment and order whereby the Trial Court had convicted and sentenced the appellant on the counts of Sections 376, 377, 506 Penal Code and Section 6 of POCSO Act.
Victim, who was merely a child of 9 years of age, has been traumatized at the hands of appellant who raped and sodomized the victim, who was none other than his real niece. Amicus Curiae argued that there was no evidence against the appellant; there was no medical report regarding sexual offence; and the trial Court did not assess the evidence properly. Counsel for the State has argued that the prosecutrix was minor; she supported the prosecution story; there is no infirmity in the impugned finding; and accordingly, the appeal was liable to be dismissed.
From the evidence of witnesses it was borne out that the accused-appellant who was none other than the real maternal uncle of the victim, had sexually molested the victim 2-3 times earlier than the incident of 27-04-2014 when he was nabbed red handed by his own sister. The accused not only sexually assaulted the victim but also sodomized her. The entire tale of incidents had unequivocally been disclosed by the victim who appeared in the dock of the Court. Moreover, the medical evidence in this case further corroborated the prosecution story.
The Court relied on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Ganesan v. State, (2020) 10 SCC 573 and Phool Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh, (2022) 2 SCC 74 where it was held that the testimony of a victim was found reliable and trustworthy, conviction on the basis of her sole testimony is permissible.
The Court stated that it is well settled that in cases involving sexual harassment, molestation etc., the Court is duty bound to deal with such cases with utmost sensitivity. Minor contradictions or insignificant discrepancies in the statement of a prosecutrix should not be a ground for throwing out an otherwise reliable prosecution case.
The Court finally dismissed the appeal holding that the testimony of the victim was absolutely trustworthy and unblemished and her evidence is of sterling quality. Therefore, without any further corroboration, the conviction of the accused relying upon the testimony of prosecutrix was sustained.[Ashok Singh Kandari v. State of Uttarakhand, 2022 SCC OnLine Utt 400, decided on 07-05-2022]
Counsel for the appellant : Mr Mukul Dangi
Counsel for the State : Mr V. S. Rathore
