Overview

• On June 5 the Karnataka High Court dismissed Suja Jones Mazurier’s appeal and upheld her husband Pascal Mazurier’s 2017 acquittal.
• The bench ruled that medical examinations showed no definitive signs of sexual abuse and noted testimonial and procedural inconsistencies.
• Judges highlighted evidence of pre-complaint coordination with NGOs and professionals, as well as testimony that the child was coached by her mother.
• Pascal Mazurier had argued that the 2012 FIR was filed to strengthen his wife’s position in a custody dispute after the couple decided to divorce.
• Both trial and high courts agreed that the allegations more likely stemmed from a domestic misunderstanding than from proven criminal conduct.