Overview
- Granting bail, the Uttarakhand High Court called a lower court’s 20-year sentence “surprising,” noting no proven place of offence, no eyewitnesses, no injury findings, and reliance on an unexhibited Section 164 statement the victim did not repeat.
- A Panchkula court sentenced a Barwala man to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment under Section 6 of POCSO and imposed fines, while acquitting a co-accused for lack of proof.
- A Special POCSO court in Balasore awarded 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment after finding a man guilty of assaulting and blackmailing a 15-year-old with obscene photos, citing testimony from 24 witnesses and 29 exhibits.
- In Karimnagar, a fast-track POCSO court sentenced a 47-year-old to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment, levied a fine, and ordered Rs 7 lakh compensation to the victim after reviewing the prosecution’s evidence.
- In Mumbai, a Special POCSO court acquitted a 25-year-old in a 2022 Govandi case, citing lack of medical corroboration, investigation gaps such as no seizure of the alleged lock and key, inconsistent testimony, and no independent witnesses, while police in Panchkula arrested a POCSO suspect traced to Uttar Pradesh after four months on the run.