Karnataka HC directs POCSO judge to undergo training over 'wrong acquittal'

The Karnataka High Court set aside the verdict of the POCSO special court which acquitted an accused in the rape of a minor. The HC said that the POCSO judge considered the evidence from a very technical point of view and ordered that the latter undergo training in the Judicial Academy.

Bengaluru (Karnataka) : The Karnataka High Court has expressed its displeasure with the POCSO trial court's verdict in acquitting an accused in the rape of a minor without considering the evidence carefully. The HC sentenced the rape accused to 5 years. Also, the HC ordered the judge of the POCSO Special Court, to undergo training from the Judicial Academy.

A bench headed by Justice Hanchate Sanjiv Kumar heard the appeal petition filed by the government challenging the order of the POCSO special court which had acquitted the accused in the sexual harassment of a minor. Judges who hear and give verdicts in POCSO cases are required to be trained by the Karnataka Judicial Academy. In the order, the court has instructed that the judge who gave the judgment in the present case should get training from the academy.

The HC said that during the hearing in the POCSO case, the evidence was considered by the special court from a very technical point of view, this development was inhumane and totally wrong. The evidence given by the victim and her parents is credible. Also, if the evidence of other relatives is examined, it will be known that the accused is guilty. Although the victim, parents and relatives have given evidence in such cases, the trial court has asked for independent evidence and eyewitness testimony.

The trial court committed grave error by acquitting the accused on the basis of the report given by the doctor that the victim had no injuries, the HC bench said. In such cases, the POCSO Special Court Judge has not considered the evidence carefully and these developments would shock the spirit of the judiciary, the bench observed. The bench has directed the Legal Services Authority to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the victim.

In February 2018, the accused was interrogated under the POCSO Act on the charge of sexually harassing an 8-year-old minor. The trial court heard the case and gathered information from the evidence. Also, on the basis of the doctor's report that there were no injuries on the victim's body, the accused was acquitted in December 2020. This was challenged in the High Court.

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