Thane, Nov 13 A special court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted a 21-year-old man in a 2024 kidnapping and sexual assault case, while strongly recommending compensation and rehabilitation for the orphaned minor survivor.
Special Judge (POCSO) Premal S Vithalani noted that the survivor, who lost her father during the course of the trial and currently lives in a shelter home, requires urgent restorative justice and financial support regardless of the trial's outcome.
A copy of the order passed on November 7 was made available on Friday.
According to the prosecution, the case stemmed from an FIR registered at the Shil-Daighar police station on May 1, 2024, when the 13-year-old girl's father reported her missing from their Dahisar Morigaon residence. Police later traced the child and the accused, Jalal Mohammad Harun Shaikh, who was her neighbour, to Delhi.
The police charged Shaikh under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 376(2)(n) (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, alleging he kidnapped and repeatedly assaulted her at different places in Mumbai and Delhi.
The defence argued that the accused and the teen were in a consensual relationship and the girl had left home voluntarily.
The court flagged inconsistencies across the girl's statement to the police and her testimony in court.
While confirming she was a minor, the judge held that the prosecution failed to prove that the child was taken away or enticed into leaving her home. It noted the girl willingly left home while her father slept.
Furthermore, the prosecution failed to produce chemical analysis reports confirming bloodstains on seized clothes. With foundational facts collapsing, the court ruled statutory presumptions under provisions of the POCSO Act could not be invoked and acquitted Shaikh of all charges.
However, taking note of the child's destitution following her father's death, the court referred her case to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Thane, under section 33(8) of the POCSO Act and section 357-A(3) of the CrPC.
"The purpose of victim compensation is restorative and rehabilitative, intended to alleviate physical and mental suffering irrespective of whether the trial culminates in a conviction or an acquittal," the judge observed.
