Thane court acquits man in POCSO case after victim testifies in his favour

THANE: A 22-year-old man facing charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act was acquitted by a Special Court in Thane. The man, who was detained for three months, was cleared of all charges after the alleged victim testified in his favour.
The case originated on February 23, 2023, when a nurse at Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation Hospital filed a complaint after a 16-year-old girl came to register for delivery services. According to the prosecution, the nurse became concerned when she discovered the girl's age from her Aadhaar card and found that she was pregnant.
However, during the trial, the alleged victim, now 19 years old, testified that she and the accused were in a consensual relationship and married in a temple after eloping to Calcutta. She explicitly stated that she had no grievance against the accused, whom she considers her husband.
Special Judge D S Deshmukh, who presided over the case, noted in the judgment that while the girl's birth certificate confirmed she was 16 years and 8 months old at the time of the incident, the prosecution failed to establish the foundational facts required to prove the charges.
"In the backdrop of the testimony of the victim, the offences levelled against the accused are not established," the court observed. The judge also highlighted that there was no documentary evidence to prove that a child marriage was performed.
The accused was acquitted of the offences falling under Section 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code (repeated rape), Section 5(l)(j)(ii) of the POCSO Act (aggravated penetrative sexual assault resulting in pregnancy), and Section 9 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.