YOWAN O. LAMARE Vs. STATE OF MEGHALAYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this appeal, the appellant has impugned the judgment and order dtd. 19/1/2023 passed by the learned Special Judge (POCSO), East Jaintia Hills District, Khlie-hriat, in Special (POCSO) Case No. 15 of 2020, convicting and sentencing him for the offence punishable under Ss. 5(m) read with Sec. 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012, to suffer minimum sentence of 10 years rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000.00, in default of payment of fine to further undergo simple imprisonment for five months.

(2.) The prosecution case in brief is as under:

(3.) Ms G.C. Marboh, learned counsel for the appellant vehemently submitted that the prosecution had failed to prove its case qua the appellant beyond reasonable doubt. She submitted that the prosecution had failed to prove the age of the prosecutrix that she was a minor at the relevant time, inasmuch as the original birth certificate of the prosecutrix was never produced by the prosecutrix. She further submitted that the evidence of the prosecution witnesses, if perused appears to be suspicious and untrustworthy. She submitted that even the eyewitness to the incident is unreliable and reliance cannot be placed on her testimony. Learned counsel for the appellant further submitted that the possibility of the prosecutrix being tutored considering her impressionable age of 10 years could not be ruled out in the facts. She further submitted that the sister of the prosecutrix, who was sleeping next to the prosecutrix at the time of sexual assault by the appellant on the prosecutrix, was never examined. According to the learned counsel for the appellant, apart from the aforesaid infirmities, even the FSL report has come negative rendering the entire prosecution case suspicious.