The Delhi Excessive Courtroom has acquitted a person who was convicted beneath the Safety of Kids from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). The court docket dominated that the phrase “bodily relations,” as utilized by the minor survivor, can’t be presumed to indicate sexual assault with out substantial proof.
Courtroom’s Ruling on ‘Bodily Relations’
The Excessive Courtroom, in its judgment delivered on December 23, acknowledged the anomaly in the usage of the time period “bodily relations.” It emphasised that the mere use of this phrase by the survivor didn’t routinely suggest sexual assault or penetrative sexual assault. The bench, comprising Justices Pratibha M. Singh and Amit Sharma, identified that there was inadequate readability about what the survivor meant by “bodily relations,” noting that it may refer to varied actions that don’t essentially equate to sexual assault.
Lack of Proof and Reasoning in Decrease Courtroom’s Judgment
The Excessive Courtroom additional noticed that the trial court docket’s resolution lacked sufficient reasoning, significantly in establishing a connection between the survivor’s use of “bodily relations” and an act of sexual assault.
The bench questioned the trial court docket’s conclusion that the survivor’s voluntary affiliation with the accused pointed to an assault, emphasizing that such a leap in logic requires clear and convincing proof.
In accordance with a report by PTI, the court docket mentioned, “The mere incontrovertible fact that the survivor is under 18 years can not result in a conclusion that there was penetrative sexual assault. The survivor, in actual fact, used the phrase ‘bodily relations’, however there is no such thing as a readability as to what she meant by utilizing the mentioned phrase.”
Good thing about Doubt to the Accused
The bench additionally reiterated that when there’s doubt in regards to the costs, the profit should be given to the accused. Given the dearth of clear proof and reasoning within the trial court docket’s verdict, the Excessive Courtroom dominated in favor of the accused, acquitting him of the fees.
