Editor Mr.Mayank Rawat ( Chief Editor Mr. Rohit Mishra )
New Delhi: A Delhi court acquitted three men and a woman of offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, observing that there was no incriminating material on record to convict them and the prosecution’s case could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
The prosecution had alleged that the four accused beat up, threatened and recorded a video of their minor niece at their brother’s house on their phones in 2022.
During investigation, it was revealed that the complainant and accused persons were part of the same family and there was a property dispute among them regarding an undivided ancestral property, the court said.
The judge said the complainant and accused persons resided in the same building as a joint family. Some altercation took place during a family dispute. The minor had specifically deposed that no incident took place with her involving the accused person prior to the aforesaid altercation, the court said.
“There is not an iota of evidence on record to link the accused persons with the alleged incident. Nothing incriminating was retrieved from the mobile phone of the accused persons,” the court of additional sessions judge Muneesh Garg said.
The prosecution could not pass the test of proving its case beyond reasonable doubt, he added. Advocate Ravi Drall appeared for the accused.
The judge, taking note of the deposition of the witnesses, said that due to some family dispute, a heated exchange of words happened between the complainant and accused persons, and due to the altercation, police were called.
However, as far as allegations of criminal house trespass, sexual harassment, beatings, and criminal intimidation are concerned, none of the witnesses deposed anything against the accused persons, the court said.
Mayank Rawat
