The Madras High Court in the case P Prathap Kumar Nayak v State observed and has set aside the conviction of an Army Jawan who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and the fine for an amount of Rs.10,000 by a POCSO Court.
The bench headed by Justice Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup in the case observed that though the prosecution had claimed that there was insertion resulting in bleeding, there was no such evidence to prove aggravated sexual assault and thus the allegations were without any medical evidence.
Further, the court observed that when the charges were not proved by medical evidence, mechanical application of presumption as stated under Section 29 of the POCSO Act would result in the miscarriage of justice.
The court stated that it being the clear case that the prosecution had not proved the charges through medical evidence and the presumption made under section 29 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, if mechanically applied in these circumstances will result in miscarriage of justice.
In the present case, the court was hearing an appeal by Prathap Kumar Nayak. Thus, the said case was against Nayak was that while Nayak’s wife and a neighbour had gone shopping, he had sexually assaulted the neighbour’s daughter.
However, when the victim child informed her mother of the incident, the mother went to the Police Station and gave a complaint, she only knew Odiya, the complaint was translated to Hindi, and then to Tamil and registered.
It has been claimed by Nayak before the court that he was wrongly arrayed as an accused to wreak vengeance.