Facts
The child survivor was a 11 year old girl with a physical disability was sexually assaulted by the accused person who had gone to her house to fix cable connection. Upon completion of the work, he closed the door and windows and sexually assaulted her. The survivor began shouting but was threatened into silence by the accused. When the accused left, the child survivor 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 Act . An appeal against the conviction was filed by the accused.
Judgment
The Court looked at the testimony of the child 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 child survivor’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.
High Court of Himachal Pradesh