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Ram Pravesh Thakur vs. State of N.C.T. of Delhi

Criminal Appeal · 2026:DHC:7631Decided 9 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
CRL.A. 1669/2025CNR: DLHC010984582025
Justice Chandrasekharan Sudha

Background

The appellant, the paternal uncle (by marriage, "fufa") of the minor victim, was convicted for sexually assaulting his 13-year-old niece at her home in April 2022, touching her, exposing himself, and attempting to undress her, while he was staying with her family after missing his train home. He was sentenced under Sections 10 & 12 of the POCSO Act and Sections 354/354B IPC. On appeal, he argued he was falsely implicated because he was pressing the family to repay a Rs. 50,000 loan he had earlier advanced to them.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court found the victim's testimony, corroborated independently by her brother, who witnessed the accused with his hand on her shoulder and his zip open, to be consistent and credible on the core allegation, despite some initial omissions later clarified under further examination. The Court rejected the "false implication over loan dispute" defense as illogical: if the family truly wanted the accused gone to avoid repaying the loan, there was no reason for him to deliberately skip his return train and continue staying at their house, which actually supported an inference of predatory intent rather than innocent presence. The appeal was dismissed and the conviction upheld.

Lesson Learnt

A defense built on an alternate motive for false implication must itself be internally consistent: if the accused's own admitted conduct (like deliberately extending his stay) contradicts the motive he alleges the family had for framing him, courts will find the defense unpersuasive.

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