Overview
- A Kendrapara special POCSO court convicted Arjun Sethi and sentenced him to 25 years in prison with a Rs 50,000 fine for raping and impregnating a 17-year-old, based on 17 witness statements and medical evidence.
- A Delhi court sentenced a 63-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment after a forensic DNA test confirmed he was the biological father of the foetus and the court imposed concurrent statutory penalties and fines.
- Both prosecutions relied on different forms of evidence to secure convictions: multi-witness testimony and medical reports in Odisha and DNA confirmation plus the victim’s account in Delhi.
- Police investigation teams and prosecution branches were credited for timely chargesheets and coordinated work that weakened the defence and helped produce guilty verdicts and sentencing orders.
- The rulings illustrate how POCSO prosecutions can produce long custodial terms and fines, but related proceedings remain open in Odisha where a third accused has not been arrested and his trial has yet to begin.