A Thane court acquitted a man accused of rape, highlighting the critical role of age verification and consent in cases involving the POCSO Act.
A special court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted a 28-year-old man accused of raping a minor girl with a promise of marriage, citing that the prosecution had failed to prove that the victim was underage at the time of the offence and the relationship appeared to be consensual.
Special judge S P Agarwal cleared the accused, Samsher Rais Khan, of charges under section 376(2)(n) (repeated rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
According to the prosecution, Khan and the victim resided in the same neighbourhood and were having an affair.
The prosecution claimed that in November 2019, Khan lured the girl to an empty house and raped her after promising marriage. The assault came to light after the teen underwent a medical examination in January, which revealed she was over eight weeks pregnant.
The court found significant gaps in the evidence regarding the victim's age. While the mother produced a birth certificate, the judge noted "over-writing in the birth year". Furthermore, an ossification test conducted by the medical team placed the victim's age between 16 and 17 years.
"Considering such ossification test report and inconsistent statement of the victim and her mother, as to in which grade she was studying at the time of the incident, the possibility arises that she was major at the time of the incident," the court held.
The victim admitted during cross-examination that she liked the accused and had gone to meet him of her own will.
"It appears she and the accused were in love with each other and the sexual relations between her and the accused were consensual..." the court observed.