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State of M.P. v. Anoop Singh

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 442 of 2010)Decided 3 Jul 2015
Criminal Appeal No. 442 of 2010
Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose · Justice Uday Umesh Lalit

Background

A schoolgirl was allegedly abducted off the road near her school, drugged unconscious, and sexually assaulted; she was found and hospitalized days later and an FIR was then registered. The trial court convicted the accused under Sections 363, 366 and 376 IPC and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment, but the Madhya Pradesh High Court set the conviction aside on appeal, chiefly by disbelieving documentary proof that the victim was under 16 at the time. The State of Madhya Pradesh then appealed to the Supreme Court against the acquittal.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in rejecting the birth/school-record documents proving the victim's age merely because of a two-day discrepancy between two certificates, and in preferring an ossification (X-ray/bone) test over documentary proof when the applicable rule gives documentary evidence priority over medical opinion. Relying on its own age-determination rules (akin to Rule 12(3)(b)), the Court found the documentary evidence credible and sufficient to establish the victim was below 16. It therefore set aside the High Court's acquittal, restored the trial court's conviction and sentence, allowed the State's appeal, and directed that the respondent be taken into custody forthwith to serve his sentence.

Lesson Learnt

In determining a victim's age in criminal cases, courts must give documentary evidence (birth certificates, school records) priority over medical/ossification tests, and minor discrepancies of a day or two between official documents should not be used to discard otherwise credible proof of age.

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

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