Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 7: High Court today set-aside the imprisonment of 10 years awarded to a teacher namely Hardev Singh by Principal Sessions Judge Rajouri.
After hearing Senior Advocate Sunil Sethi with Advocate Waheed Choudhary for the applicant whereas Govt Advocate Bhanu Jasrotia for the UT, Justice Sanjeev Kumar observed, “the discrepancies and the contradictions appearing in the evidence of the prosecution are not normal but material discrepancies which have the effect of eroding the credibility of the prosecution case”.
“The trial court has not appreciated this aspect and has cursorily and mechanically accepted the prosecution version as narrated by the prosecution witnesses. The trial court has even picked up the single lines from the statement of Ruksana Kousar, who has not supported the prosecution case at all, though she was claimed by the complainant and the child victim present on spot. Picking up of one line out of context is not permissible. The only statement of Ruksana Kousar that the appellant has restrained the victim while other students were allowed to leave the school, cannot lead to the conclusion that the victim was restrained for commission of the offence”.
“Her statement is very specific and categoric that when the child victim came out of the class and accompanied her to home, she did not narrate to her anything with regard to the alleged occurrence”, High Court said, adding “there is no substance in the contention of the Government counsel that in view of provisions of Section 29 POCSO Act, it was for the appellant to rebut the presumption of guilt by leading cogent defence evidence”.
“It clearly comes out that prosecution has miserably failed to establish foundational facts that may give rise to presumption of guilt of appellant who is accused of commission of offence under Section 9 and punishable under Section 10 of the POCSO Act. The foundational facts are required to be established by the prosecution by leading evidence beyond any reasonable doubt”, the High Court said and set-aside the sentence awarded to petitioner.
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