Supreme Court Upholds POCSO Conviction of Man for Sexual Assault of Four-Year-Old, Reduces Sentence to Six Years

A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria heard the criminal appeal filed by the convict against the judgment and order of the Chhattisgarh High Court which had dismissed his CRA No. 1348 of 2023 and confirmed his conviction by the Special Judge (POCSO), Kunkuri. The appellant challenged his conviction under Section 9(m) read with Section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and the sentence of seven years’ rigorous imprisonment imposed by the trial court.

The Court upheld the conviction but modified the sentence. It found the ocular evidence and the circumstances recorded by the trial court and the High Court to be reliable and declined to interfere with the findings of guilt. The Court, in its reasoning, observed: The Bench noted that the mother’s narration “inspires confidence and deserves to be accepted” and recorded that medical examination had revealed “redness in the vagina of the victim.” The Court also observed that “the victim was in a frightened state upon seeing the accused,” which it treated as a telling circumstance corroborating the prosecution case. While affirming conviction, the Court reduced the term of rigorous imprisonment from seven years to six years in view of the appellant’s having undergone approximately four years and five months of imprisonment, and it directed imposition of a fine of Rs. 6,000 with one year’s simple imprisonment in default.

Background

The dispute arose from an incident dated 15 August 2021. The mother of the four-year-old victim reported that the appellant was found sitting near the legs of her child wearing only half shorts; on being confronted the accused fled. The mother stated that the child’s underwear was down to her knees and the frock was pulled up to the chest, and that the child complained of pain in her private part. A birth certificate seized by police showed the victim’s date of birth as 13.02.2017, placing her age at four years. An FIR was registered at Duldula Police Station, Jashpur (Crime No. 52 of 2021) under sections of the IPC and under Sections 5 and 6 of the POCSO Act. The child underwent medical examination; the doctor did not find external injuries or bleeding but noted redness in the vaginal area. The victim’s statement under Section 164 CrPC was recorded; during trial the child’s in-court evidence could not be completed because she became frightened on seeing the accused and cried, and the trial court recorded that her examination was closed.

At trial the Special Judge convicted the appellant under Section 9(m) and Section 10 POCSO and sentenced him to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 2,000 and one year’s imprisonment in default. The High Court dismissed the appellant’s challenge and affirmed conviction and sentence. Before the Supreme Court the appellant urged that there were no eyewitnesses, that medical evidence did not show penetration or external injury, and that redness could be caused by rubbing or infection; he sought benefit of doubt. The State relied on the parents’ consistent testimony and other circumstances.

The Supreme Court accepted the prosecution narrative as sufficiently cogent and consistent, held that medical evidence need not be conclusive when ocular testimony was reliable, and concluded that the offence constituted aggravated sexual assault under Section 9 and attracted punishment under Section 10. The Court modified the sentence to six years’ rigorous imprisonment in total, directed a fine of Rs. 6,000 with one year’s simple imprisonment in default, and noted the period already served; it partly allowed the appeal only to this limited extent. All interlocutory applications stood disposed of as a consequence.

Case Details: Case No.: Criminal Appeal No. 4732 of 2025 Case Title: Dinesh Kumar Jaldhari v. State of Chhattisgarh Appearances: For the Petitioner(s): Ms. Varnika Gupta, Advocate For the Respondent(s): Ms. Ankita Sharma, Advocate