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Supreme Court Acquits Man in Minor Assault Case
The Supreme Court reviewed a case about an alleged assault on an 11-year-old girl in Meghalaya in 2015.
A lower court had convicted the accused man and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
The man appealed that decision.
The Supreme Court said the evidence did not prove the case strongly enough to keep the conviction.
It noted problems including a delay in reporting and differences in accounts.
The court also said the girl and her cousin did not identify the man in court.
A teacher who was said to have heard the girl’s account was not called to testify.
The court overturned the earlier decisions and acquitted the man.
It ordered his release if he was not held in another case.
The Supreme Court acquitted a man convicted of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in Meghalaya in 2015.
The court said the prosecution evidence fell short of the standard needed to uphold a conviction beyond reasonable doubt.
It cited delayed reporting, conflicting accounts about the man’s relationship to the family, and the girl’s and cousin’s failure to identify him in court.
The prosecution did not call the teacher to whom the girl had reportedly disclosed the incident, and gave no reason for not doing so.
The court set aside the trial court and Meghalaya High Court rulings sentencing the man to 10 years in prison, and ordered his release if he was not wanted in another case.
- Who
- A man accused of assaulting an 11-year-old girl; the Supreme Court heard his appeal.
- What
- The Supreme Court set aside his conviction and acquitted him, finding the evidence insufficient to sustain it.
- Where
- The alleged incident was at the girl’s residence in East Jaintia Hills district, Meghalaya.
- When
- The alleged assault was reported to have occurred in May 2015; the Supreme Court issued its verdict on Friday, October 9.
- Why
- The court found that the evidence fell short of the standard required to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Key facts
- Alleged incident
- May 2015
- Age of girl
- 11
- Location
- East Jaintia Hills district, Meghalaya
- Earlier sentence
- 10 years’ imprisonment
- High Court judgment
- March 2022
- Court’s finding
- The evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction beyond reasonable doubt.
- Release order
- Release the appellant forthwith if he is not wanted in any other case.
Quotes
Supreme Court bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta
The two-judge Supreme Court bench that heard the appeal.
“In our considered opinion, the evidence brought on record falls woefully short of the standard required for sustaining the conviction of the accused-appellant. The findings recorded by the courts below, in the impugned judgments, are unsustainable in law and the same deserve to be set aside.”
theprint.in
Sources
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