Facts
The victim, a 11 year old girl with a physical disability was sexually assaulted by the accused person who had gone to the her house to fix cable connection. Upon completion of the work, he closed the door and windows, raised the volume of the television, and pulled the survivor towards himself. He removed her undergarment and digitally penetrated her vagina. The survivor began shouting but was threatened into silence by the accused. When the accused left, the victim called her cousin and informed him of the incident. A FIR was lodged. The trial court convicted the accused under section 376(2)(i) IPC and sections 4 and 10 POCSO. An appeal to the conviction was filed by the accused.
Judgment
The Court looked at the testimony provided by the survivor and noted that the same was corroborated by her mother. Medical examination had been conducted and the injuries were found to be simple in nature. The Court observed that a victim’s statement could not be discredited on the ground of absence of injuries. If a medical report was not produced, the same would not be of much consequence if the other evidence was believable. Further, the evidence provided by the child survivor would always stand at a higher pedestal than that of an injured witness. Such evidence does not require corroboration and moreover, corroboration was not sine qua non for conviction. The conviction was upheld by the High Court. However, modification to the sentencing was made as the offence had occurred prior to the 2019 criminal law amendment and the sentencing has been done as per the amendment.