Read Time: 04 minutes

A Special Court on Monday designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) acquitted a 48-year-old man of sexual assault charges under the special law over allegations by his daughter. The man spent more than a year in prison before he was finally acquitted.

The Special Court in its order stated that the allegations were made only to put the alcoholic man behind bars under the POCSO Act.

The Court of the Special Judge, Priti Kumar (Ghule) under the POCSO Act stated in her judgment that it is seen that the mother and daughter did not support the prosecution case in respect of the sexual assault offence.

It continued in another part of the order that it is seen that the allegation of sexual assault was only raised so that the accused can be put in jail under POCSO Act.

“The family members are against the drinking habit and dominance of the accused. So they decided to lodge this complaint,” the court said, while acquitting the man, a driver by profession.

It must be noted that in the complaint lodged at the Vikhroli Police Station, the minor’s mother, had stated that on Jun 6, 2020 around 2 am when the family had been asleep, she had heard her 17-year-old daughter shouting.

According to her, the man had allegedly tried to undress the girl and slapped her when she resisted. Subsequently, the woman had approached the police.

During the course of trial, the wife and daughter did not support their complaint. The wife deposed before the court that her husband being a drunkard, would beat and harass them and that was the reason for her lodging the complaint in anger. She further said that she has no complaint against him and wants him released.

Similarly, the daughter testified that because he would drink alcohol and beat her mother daily, they decided to put him in jail by this means.

She specifically denied the incident of sexual assault. The daughter also denied recording of her statement before a magistrate which contained the same allegations.

[With inputs from Free Press Journal]