POCSO Act | Examining Other Witnesses Not Necessary If Victim's Sole Testimony Reliable To Convict Accused: Meghalaya High Court

Based on the sole testimony of the victim, the Meghalaya High Court recently upheld the conviction of an accused for committing the offence of aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the POCSO Act.

The Court said that the accused can be convicted based on the sole testimony of the victim if the victim's testimony is found to be credit-worthy, unblemished, and inspires the confidence of the court.

Further, the Court added that there is no need to examine other "vital witnesses" once the testimony of the victim is sufficient to prove the guilt of the accused.

“Though learned Senior Counsel for the appellant pointed out that some of the vital witnesses had not been examined in this case, it is pertinent to mention here with reference to the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of State of Himachal Pradesh vs. Raghubir Singh, reported in (1993) 2 SCC 622 that evidence has to be weighed and not counted and conviction can be recorded on the sole testimony of the prosecutrix, if her evidence inspires confidence and there is absence of circumstances, which militate against her veracity.”, the bench comprising Chief Justice S. Vaidyanathan and Justice W. Diengdoh said.

The Court found that the sexual abuse of the victim girl by the accused was duly established by the prosecution through medical evidence and thus, there was proper corroboration of the evidence with the medical documents.

“Above all, the answer given by the appellant, when he was questioned under Section 313(l)(b) Cr.P.C., is only the ipse dixit of the appellant and no attempt was made by him to disprove the version of the prosecution and the victim girl as well”, the court added.

Apart from the holding that the prosecution had established the accused guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the Court reiterated the observations made by the Supreme Court in State of Punjab v. Gurmit Singh, reported in (1996) 2 SCC 384.

The Apex Court in the Gurmit Singh case observed that physical sexual assault not only leaves the worst memories but also ruins the entire life of the victim and while the murder shatters the body of a person, the rape is destructive of the personal liberty of a helpless/ noble creature.

Accordingly, the Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the conviction of the accused.

Counsels for Appellant(s) Mr. K.S. Kynjing, Sr.Adv with Mr. G. Syngkrem, Adv

Counsels for Respondent(s) Mr. K. Khan, AAG with Mr. S. Sengupta, Addi.PP Mr. K.P. Bhattacharjee, GA

Case Details: Shri Treda Sungoh Versus State of Meghalaya

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Megh) 21

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