Court convicts man for sexually assaulting 8-year-old girl acquits him of rape charge

Thane, Jul 16 (PTI) A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has convicted a man for sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl in 2018, but acquitted him of the rape charge citing lack of evidence.
In the order passed on July 15, special court judge D S Deshmukh, hearing cases pertaining to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, convicted Rameshsingh Vijaybahadur Singh and sentenced him to the period of imprisonment (of seven years and two months) he has already served.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on him.
However, Singh was acquitted of the more severe charges of rape under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and sections 3 and 4 (penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.
As per the case registered at the Kapurbawadi police station on August 4, 2018, the crime took place between April 29, 2018 and May 6, 2018.
Special public prosecutor Rekha Hivarale said the 52-year-old accused committed penetrative sexual assault on the minor in a public toilet. The victim's father filed the complaint after his brother allegedly witnessed the accused attempting to sexually assault the child, and the victim herself disclosed multiple instances of penetrative sexual assault.
During the investigation, police seized clothes, collected the victim's birth certificate, recorded statements and conducted medical examination of both the victim and the accused. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reports were also collected.
The defence, led by advocate Sanjay Gaikwad, argued that the victim's sole testimony was inconsistent and insufficient, and pointed out discrepancies between her statements to the police and the magistrate.
They also highlighted the absence of the eyewitness, the victim's uncle, who allegedly saw the initial incident.
The defence argued that medical examination reports did not support penetrative sexual assault, and no independent evidence corroborated the victim's testimony regarding the public toilet incident.
The court also said there was lack of physical evidence to support the allegation of penetrative sexual assault. It noted that the medical officer found no injuries on the victim girl's private part.
While the medical examination of the accused showed abrasion injuries, attributed to an assault or scratching, the medical opinion only stated his capability to commit penetrative sexual assault, not that he had.
The judge highlighted that in her history given to the prosecution witness, the victim did not explicitly state penetrative sexual assault, only said that the accused "touched her private part in the public toilet 7 to 8 times". The medical examination similarly found no external injuries or injuries on her genital part.
The court then concluded that charges under section 376 of IPC and Sections 3 & 4 of the POCSO Act were not applicable.
It said, "However, the evidence on record clearly shows that the victim has been sexually assaulted by the accused."
Considering the age of the accused, his family's dependence and the more than seven years he has already spent in jail since his arrest on May 6, 2018, the court sentenced Singh to the period already served.
The court has recommended the case to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Thane, for awarding compensation to the victim as per the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)