Absence Of Injuries, Outcry Fatal To Prosecution: MP High Court On Minor Assault Acquittal

The Madhya Pradesh High Court's Indore bench has upheld the acquittal of a man accused of attempting to sexually assault a minor girl, holding that pre-existing animosity between the two families, the complainant's own admissions in cross-examination, and glaring inconsistencies in the prosecution's version made it unsafe to convict him.

Justice Jai Kumar Pillai dismissed two connected appeals, one filed by the victim and another by the State of Madhya Pradesh, both challenging a judgment of acquittal passed on February 20, 2023 by the Second Additional Sessions Judge, Shujalpur, in a case registered under provisions dealing with sexual offences against a minor.

According to the prosecution, on March 5, 2021, the complainant, then around twelve and a half years old, was alone at her house sweeping the courtyard while her parents were away at work and her brother had gone to fetch water. It was alleged that the accused, Jwala Singh, a neighbour, caught her hand and tried to drag her towards a nearby drain to commit an indecent act, telling her, "If you want to do dirty things with me, come to the drain, I will give you money." The girl said she freed herself, hit him with a broom, and ran to inform her brother, after which her family called the police and lodged an FIR.

Appearing for the victim, Advocate Archana Jadia, joined by Government Advocate Jay Pal Choksey for the State in the connected appeal, argued that the trial court had failed to properly appreciate consistent testimony from the complainant, her parents, her brother, and the investigating officer, and had wrongly discarded the case merely over alleged enmity between the two families. Relying on precedent, counsel submitted that prior enmity does not by itself make credible witnesses unreliable, and that the absence of injuries is immaterial where a minor's testimony inspires confidence, meaning a conviction could have rested on her word alone.

Opposing both appeals, counsel for the defence submitted that the trial court had meticulously appreciated the evidence, correctly flagging contradictions and admissions fatal to the prosecution's case, and that the acquittal required no interference.

The High Court fully agreed with the trial court's approach. It noted that the complainant herself admitted during cross-examination that her father and the accused's father had earlier worked together for a man named Ashok Parmar, and that a dispute arose between the two families after her father began working elsewhere. She further admitted that a heated altercation had taken place between the fathers just a day before the alleged incident, and that it was this quarrel, not the alleged assault, that prompted her father to lodge the police complaint.

The court also pointed to several factual gaps: the drain the girl said she was dragged towards did not appear on the official spot map; despite the accused being a much stronger 23-year-old man, the medical report showed no injuries on her body; and she admitted she did not raise any alarm while allegedly being pulled away. The court observed that if there truly was an intent to commit a wrongful act, an assailant would be unlikely to drag a victim towards an open, publicly visible drain rather than exploit the isolation of the house itself.

Justice Pillai further noted that the incident was said to have occurred in a busy, thickly populated area, with women fetching water nearby, a school with an active playground opposite, and a public road running past the courtyard, yet the investigation produced no independent witness from the locality.

Holding that these circumstances collectively "cast a heavy shadow of reasonable doubt" over the prosecution's story, the court found no legal infirmity, illegality, or perversity in the trial court's reasoning, and ruled that the acquittal was "not only entirely reasonable but... the only plausible conclusion" available on the evidence.

Both appeals were accordingly dismissed, with the accused remaining acquitted, and the trial court record was sent back for compliance.

Case Title: Victim X vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh & Others with connected matter

Order Date: August 20, 2026

Coram: Justice Jai Kumar Pillai