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State of Himachal Pradesh v. Sanjay Kumar alias Sunny

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 1231 of 2016)Decided 15 Dec 2016
Criminal Appeal No. 1231 of 2016
Justice A.K. Sikri · Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre

Background

A nine-year-old girl was raped on more than one occasion by her uncle (her father's real brother) while visiting her grandparents' village in Himachal Pradesh, and was also threatened not to disclose it. She eventually told her mother after a doctor, examining her for stomach pain years later, suspected past sexual assault; a police complaint and trial followed. The trial court convicted the accused under Sections 376(2)(f) and 506 IPC and sentenced him, but the Himachal Pradesh High Court, on appeal, acquitted him, holding that the prosecution had not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court re-examined the evidence, including the testimony of the child victim, her mother, and the examining doctors, and found it to be a credible, consistent, and reliable account that the trial court had rightly accepted after observing the child's demeanour. The Court held that the High Court was wrong to overturn a well-reasoned trial court judgment on the basis of minor inconsistencies, reiterating (quoting its own precedent in State of Rajasthan v. Om Prakash) that child rape cases demand special judicial care and that courts must not let minor contradictions undermine an otherwise reliable prosecution case. The Court allowed the State's appeal, set aside the High Court's acquittal, and restored the trial court's conviction, sentencing the respondent to 12 years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine under Section 376(2)(f), and a concurrent 2 years' imprisonment under Section 506, directing he be taken into custody immediately.

Lesson Learnt

Appellate courts should not acquit an accused in a child sexual assault case merely over minor inconsistencies in testimony when the trial court, having directly observed the child witness, found her account credible and consistent: the reliability of the core testimony matters more than small discrepancies in peripheral details.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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