Victim Turned Hostile, Weak Medical Evidence: Punjab & Haryana High Court Acquits Man Accused Of Committing Sodomy On 14-Yr-Old

The Punjab & Haryana High Court recently acquitted a man sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for allegedly committing sodomy on a 14 years old boy.

“the effect(s) of the victim completely resiling from his statements Ex. P-5, and, Ex. P-6, besides the effects of the MLR of the victim, as enclosed in Ex. P-1 also blunting the genesis of the prosecution version, that the victim was not subjected to any penetrative sexual assault by the accused, thus thereby the charges become completely staggered,” said the bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Kuldeep Tiwari.

The Court was hearing convict's appeal against decision of Sessions Judge (Fast Track Special Court ).

According to the prosecution, a complaint was made by the elder brother of the victim that sodomy had been committed against his 14 years old brother. According to the complaint the accused committed the penetrative sexual assault upon the victim by taking him to a bathroom of a government school in his neighbourhood. Prosecution examined 14 witnesses.

However, the Court noted that when victim stepped into the witness box for examination-in-chief, “he openly resiled from his previously made statement in writing to the investigating officer concerned.”

On analysing the DNA evidence the Court opined that DNA profiling of seminal stains found on the underwear of the victim with the DNA profile of the accused, suggested that "both belonged to the same biological origin”.

The Court further noted that the blood sample of the victim was not taken and said that “the consequence of the above non-collection, and, the further telling sequel of no apposite DNA profilings being made, thus leaves immense scope for an inference, that the semen, as found on the underwear of the victim, may be of the same biological original, as that of his blood. Resultantly, in the wake of the above, the benefit of doubt is to be accorded to the appellant-convict.”

Consequently, the appeal was allowed and the impugned judgment of conviction was set aside.

Case Title: Goldy v. State of Haryana

Appearance: Mitul Singh Rana, Advocate with Nisha Rana, Advocate for the appellant.

Case Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (PH) 157

Ankur Mittal, Addl. A.G., Haryana with

Pardeep Prakash Chahar, Sr. DAG, Haryana.

Click here to read/download the order.