Bombay High Court quashes conviction in POCSO case

It says the the statement of the four-year-old victim cannot be relied upon

Almost three years after a man was convicted of sexually harassing and assaulting a minor, the Bombay High Court has acquitted him on the ground that the statement of the four-year-old victim cannot be relied upon.

A single bench of Justice Anuja Prabhudessai was hearing a criminal appeal filed by Laxman Varma, challenging an order passed by the special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court that sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years.

The High Court held that the sessions judge failed to evaluate the reliability of the four-year-old and so it was necessary to scrutinise her evidence to ascertain whether she was a competent witness. The court noted that the sessions judge recorded that she was unable to recall facts and so permitted the public prosecutor to ask her leading questions.