POCSO Act Case: Madras HC Acquits Death Row Convict

Introduction to the POCSO Act

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 is a law enacted to protect children from sexual abuse, sexual assault, and pornography. The Act came into effect on November 14, 2012, and is applicable to the whole of India.

Madras High Court Verdict

The Madras High Court has acquitted a death row convict from the charge of aggravated sexual assault under the POCSO Act, 2012 and modified his capital punishment to life imprisonment only for the charge of murdering a nine-year-old girl child.

Justices Anita Sumanth and Sunder Mohan passed the verdict while partly allowing an appeal preferred by the convict Kakka alias Karunas in the 2024 Puducherry POCSO Act case, in which the second accused Harikrishnan alias Vivekanandan had died by suicide, inside the prison, before commencement of trial.

Background of the Case

A special court for POCSO Act cases had, on April 30, 2026, convicted the appellant and sentenced him to death both for the charge under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Division Bench arrived at the decision after examination and cross examination of some of the witnesses during the course of hearing of the appeal, along with a reference made by the trial court for confirmation of death sentences imposed by it for the POCSO charge and the murder charge.

Prosecution's Case

According to the prosecution, the two accused had subjected the girl child, their neighbour, to aggravated sexual assault at the residence of the second accused before smothering her to death and dumping her body in a canal behind the place of occurrence on March 2, 2024.

The body was recovered from the canal on March 5, 2024 and the Puducherry Director General of Police had appointed a woman police officer in the rank of Superintendent of Police on March 6, 2024 to investigate the case considering the gravity of the offence.

Court's Decision

The Division Bench held that the prosecution had, through medical evidence, conclusively established the fact of the victim child having been subjected to aggravated sexual assault and done to death.

However, it did not go into the case against the second accused since he had died on September 16, 2024 and the charges against him stood abated even before commencement of trial.

In so far as the appellant was concerned, the judges said, neither his semen nor blood stain was found in any of the objects that were recovered from the scene of crime.

They refused to give credence to the forensic analyst’s opinion that there was a “close match” between his touch/trace DNA reportedly lifted from the scene of crime and his blood sample.

Key Findings

• The prosecution had succeeded in proving the ‘last seen’ theory through the evidence of a local resident, Alphonse, who had seen the victim child along with the appellant just hours before she was reported missing from her residence.
• The police had established that the appellant was at the place of occurrence since his hair strands had been recovered from a pillow at the second accused’s residence.
• A coir rope recovered from the residence matched with the coir rope with which the child’s body had been tied.

The judges concluded that the appellant was certainly guilty of murdering the child and screening the evidence.

However, “it is not established by the prosecution by any acceptable evidence that the accused had committed penetrative sexual assault on the victim,” they said.

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“Though we are convinced based on the circumstances that the petitioner is guilty of the offence under Section 302 of the IPC, our perception and inference cannot be said to be infallible,” the judges observed, called for a report from the probation officer on the conduct of the appellant, and modified the death sentence to life imprisonment.

Implications of the Verdict

The Madras High Court's verdict in this case highlights the importance of careful consideration of evidence in criminal cases, particularly those involving serious charges like murder and aggravated sexual assault.

The court's decision to modify the death sentence to life imprisonment reflects its commitment to upholding the principles of justice and ensuring that the rights of the accused are protected.

Expert Perspective

Experts in the field of law and criminology have welcomed the verdict, stating that it sets a precedent for the careful evaluation of evidence in similar cases.

They also highlighted the need for further reforms in the criminal justice system to ensure that the rights of victims and accused are protected.

Conclusion

The Madras High Court's verdict in this case is a significant development in the realm of criminal justice in India.

It underscores the importance of careful consideration of evidence and the need for a fair and impartial trial.

The verdict also highlights the challenges faced by the criminal justice system in India and the need for further reforms to ensure that justice is served.