1 CRA No. 2136 of 2023 2025:CGHC:61441-DB NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR CRA No. 2136 of 2023 Kishore Sarthi Son Of Ramkumar Sarthi, Aged About 32 Years Resident Of Village Angara, P.S. - Kurud, District - Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh. ... Appellant(s) versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station Khurd, District - Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh. ... Respondent(s) (Cause title is taken from Case Information System) For Appellant : Ms. Seema Singh, Advocate For Respondent/State : Mr.Nitansh Jaiswal, P.L. Hon’ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon’ble Shri Bibhu Datta Guru, Judge Order on Board Per, Bibhu Datta Guru, J 17/12/2025 1. Heard Ms. Seema Singh, learned counsel, appearing on behalf of the appellant as well as Mr. Nitansh Jaiswal, Panel Lawyer appearing on behalf of the State/respondent. 2. This appeal is directed against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 25.08.2023 passed by the Learned Upper JYOTI SHARMA Digitally signed by JYOTI SHARMA Date: 2025.12.19 15:28:28 +0530 2 CRA No. 2136 of 2023 Sessions Judge F.T.S.C. (POCSO) Dhamtari District Dhamtari C.G. in Special Criminal Case (POCSO) No. 43/2023 whereby the appellant has been convicted and sentenced as under:- Conviction Sentence Under Section 6 of the POCSO Act R.I. for 20 years and fine of Rs. 1,000/- with default stipulations. 3. The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 29.07.2023, the victim’s mother submitted a written report at Police Station Kurud stating that her daughter, the victim, aged about 6 years, informed her at around 6:00 PM on the same day that her neighbour, namely Lakku’s father (the accused), had called her into his kitchen on the pretext of giving her water. It was alleged that the accused thereafter removed the victim’s skirt and knicker and inserted his finger into her vagina, thereby causing her pain. On the basis of the said written report, a First Information Report was registered against the accused. During the course of investigation, the victim was medically examined, her statement was recorded, and a spot map/sketch of the place of occurrence was prepared. The accused was also medically examined. The birth certificate of the victim was collected to establish her age. The undergarments of the victim were seized and sent for examination 4. After completion of the entire investigation, finding sufficient material against the accused, the investigating agency filed the 3 CRA No. 2136 of 2023 charge sheet before the competent Court. 5. In order to bring home the offence, the prosecution has examined 8 witnesses in its support. Statement of the accused/appellant under Section 313 Cr.P.C was recorded, wherein he has pleaded his innocence and false implication in the matter. 6. The trial Court after appreciating oral and documentary evidence available on record, by its judgment dated 25.08.2023 convicted and sentenced the appellant as mentioned in paragraph one of this judgment. Hence, this appeal. 7. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed by the learned trial Court is contrary to the facts and evidence available on record and is therefore liable to be set aside. It is contended that the prosecution has utterly failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and that the appellant has been convicted merely on suspicion without any cogent, reliable or documentary evidence. Learned counsel further submits that the prosecution examined only interested witnesses, whose testimonies are unreliable, untrustworthy and unsupported by independent or corroborative evidence. It is argued that there are material contradictions and omissions in the statements of the prosecution witnesses, which have not been properly scrutinized or appreciated by the learned trial Court. According to learned counsel, the essential ingredients of the alleged offences have not 4 CRA No. 2136 of 2023 been proved, and no offence as alleged is made out against the appellant on the basis of the evidence on record. It is further submitted that the learned trial Court failed to appreciate that the prosecution evidence does not establish the offence of outraging the modesty of the victim by cogent material. Hence, the conviction is illegal, arbitrary and bad in the eye of law, and the appellant is entitled to acquittal by extending the benefit of doubt. 8. On the other hand, learned counsel for the State opposes the submissions made by the learned counsel for the appellant and submits that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and the learned trial Court after considering the material available on record has rightly convicted and sentenced the appellant, in which no interference is called for. 9. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and considered their rival submissions made herein-above and also went through the original records of the learned trial Court with utmost circumspection and carefully as well. 10. The first question for consideration is whether the victim is minor/ below the age of 18 years or not? 11. PW-1, the mother of the victim, has stated that the victim is aged about 6 years and her date of birth is 11.07.2017. This fact is duly corroborated by the statement of PW-2, the victim herself, who has also deposed that her age is 6 years, as well as by PW-3, the grandmother of the victim, who likewise stated that the victim is 5 CRA No. 2136 of 2023 aged about 6 years. The statements of these witnesses have remained totally unchallenged during cross-examination. Further, the birth certificate of the victim (Article A-1), issued by the Municipal Corporation, was seized during investigation, wherein the date of birth of the victim is recorded as 11.07.2017. 12. In view of the consistent oral evidence of the prosecution witnesses and the documentary evidence in the form of the birth certificate, we do not have any hesitation in holding that the victim on the date of incident being below the age of 18 years, is 'child' within the meaning of section 2(d) of the POCSO Act. 13. The next question for consideration would come, whether the appellant committed such heinous act with the Victim or not? 14. PW-1 mother of the victim stated that the victim was her minor daughter aged about six years, born on 11.07.2017. She deposed that on 29.07.2023, while she and her husband had gone to the fields, the accused took the victim to his house on the pretext of showing a mobile phone. The victim stated that the accused asked her to bring water from the kitchen and followed her, removed his undergarment and trousers, and also removed the victim’s knicker & skirt. The accused then rubbed his beard on her cheek and inserted his finger into her vagina, causing pain. The victim first disclosed the incident to her grandmother and thereafter to the witness. On return of her husband in the evening, the witness along with family members lodged a report. 6 CRA No. 2136 of 2023 15. PW-2 victim stated that on the date of the incident the accused on the pretext of showing mobile phone called the victim to his house and thereafter asked her to fetch water from the kitchen and followed her, removed his undergarment and trousers, and also removed the victim’s knicker and skirt. He then inserted his finger into her vagina. She further deposed that after returning home she told the incident to her grand-mother. 16. PW-3 grand mother of the victim stated that on 29.07.2023, as it was a school holiday, the victim was at home while her parents had gone to the fields. She was alone at home and observed the victim playing in the street in the evening. Around 7:00 p.m., the victim returned home and repeatedly told her younger brother not to go to the accused’s house, calling him a “bad man.” When the witness asked the victim why she was calling the accused a bad man, the victim stated that the accused had removed his undergarment. The witness further stated that she then went to the accused’s house and slapped him two to three times. Subsequently, the victim narrated the full incident to her mother. 17. PW-4 Dr. Sheelarani Dewangan stated that the victim appeared in normal physical condition and that her menstruation had not commenced. On examination of the external genitalia, the labia majora, labia minora, and hymen were found to be red and swollen. The hymen was torn, and the area was painful on touch. In the opinion of the witness, the victim had been subjected to 7 CRA No. 2136 of 2023 sexual activity. The medical examination report was marked as Ex. P-8, bearing the signature of the witness. 18. It is settled principle that if the testimony of the victim is trustworthy and totality of the circumstances appearing on the record of the case disclose that the victim does not have a strong motive to falsely implicate the person charged, the Court should ordinarily have no hesitation in accepting her/his evidence. 19. It has also become almost settled position of law that conviction can be based on the solitary statement of victim, provided same inspires confidence of the court. 20. The Supreme Court in the matter of Rai Sandeep alias Deenu v. State (NCT of Delhi), 2012 (8) SCC 21 held as under:- “22. In our considered opinion, the ‘sterling witness’ should be of a very high quality and caliber whose version should, therefore, be unassailable. The Court considering the version of such witness should be in a position to accept it for its face value without any hesitation. To test the quality of such a witness, the status of the witness would be immaterial and what would be relevant is the truthfulness of the statement made by such a witness. What would be more relevant would be the consistency of the statement right from the starting point till the end, namely, at the time when the witness makes the initial statement and ultimately before the Court. It should be natural and consistent with the case of the prosecution 8 CRA No. 2136 of 2023 qua the accused. There should not be any prevarication in the version of such a witness. The witness should be in a position to withstand the cross-examination of any length and howsoever strenuous it may be and under no circumstance should give room for any doubt as to the factum of the occurrence, the persons involved, as well as, the sequence of it. Such a version should have co- relation with each and everyone of other supporting material such as the recoveries made, the weapons used, the manner of offence committed, the scientific evidence and the expert opinion. The said version should consistently match with the version of every other witness. It can even be stated that it should be akin to the test applied in the case of circumstantial evidence where there should not be any missing link in the chain of circumstances to hold the accused guilty of the offence alleged against him. Only if the version of such a witness qualifies the above test as well as all other similar such tests to be applied, it can be held that such a witness can be called as a ‘sterling witness’ whose version can be accepted by the Court without any corroboration and based on which the guilty can be punished. To be more recise, the version of the said witness on the core spectrum of the crime should remain intact while all other attendant materials, namely, oral, documentary and material objects should match the said version in material particulars in order to enable the Court trying the offence to rely on the core version to sieve the other supporting materials for holding the offender guilty of the 9 CRA No. 2136 of 2023 charge alleged.” 21. Also, the Supreme Court in the matter of State of Maharashtra vs Chandraprakash Kewal Chand Jain, 1990 SCC 550 held as under:- “A prosecutrix of a sex-offence cannot be put on par with an accomplice. She is in fact a victim of the crime. The Evidence Act nowhere says that her evidence cannot be accepted unless it is corroborated in material particulars. She is undoubtedly a competent witness under Section 118 and her evidence must receive the same weight as is attached to an injured in cases of physical violence. The same degree of care and caution must attach in the evaluation of her evidence as in the case of an injured complainant or witness and no more. What is necessary is that the Court must be conscious of the fact that it is dealing with the evidence of a person who is interested in the outcome of the charge levelled by her. If the Court keeps this in mind and feels satisfied that it can act on the evidence of the prosecutrix. There is no rule of law or practice incorporated in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (in short ‘Evidence Act’) similar to illustration (b) to Section 114 which requires it to look for corroboration. If for some reason the Court is hesitant to place implicit reliance on the testimony of the prosecutrix it may look for evidence which may lend assurance to her testimony short of corroboration required in the case of an accomplice. The nature of evidence required to 10 CRA No. 2136 of 2023 lend assurance to the testimony of the prosecutrix must necessarily depend on the facts and circumstances of each case. But if a prosecutrix is an adult and of full understanding the Court is entitled to base a conviction on her evidence unless the same is own to be infirm and not trustworthy. If the totality of the circumstances appearing on the record of the case discloses that the prosecutrix does not have a strong motive to falsely involve the person charged, the Court should ordinarily have no hesitation in accepting her evidence.” 22. On a careful consideration of the evidence on record, it is apparent that the prosecution has established the case beyond reasonable doubt. PW-1, the mother of the victim, consistently deposed that the accused took her six-year-old daughter to his house on the pretext of showing a mobile phone, where the accused committed sexual assault. The victim herself, PW-2, corroborated this version in her statement, narrating the incident in detail and describing the acts of the accused. PW-3, the grandmother, further confirmed the victim’s apprehension about the accused and her immediate disclosure of the incident. PW-4, the medical officer, opined that the victim had been subjected to sexual activity, which was supported by the medical findings. The testimony of the victim is found to be trustworthy, consistent, and free from any material contradictions, and there is no evidence to suggest that she had any motive to falsely implicate the accused. 11 CRA No. 2136 of 2023 23. It is well settled that a conviction can be based on the sole testimony of a victim if it inspires confidence, and in the present case, the victim’s statement is corroborated by the testimony of her mother, grandmother, and medical evidence. Considering the totality of circumstances, there is no merit in the appeal. The appeal is accordingly dismissed. 24. Registry is directed to send a copy of this judgment to the concerned Superintendent of Jail where the appellant is undergoing the jail sentence to serve the same on the appellant informing him that he is at liberty to assail the present judgment passed by this Court by preferring an appeal before the Hon’ble Supreme Court with the assistance of High Court Legal Services Committee or the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. 25. Let a copy of this judgment and the original record be transmitted to the trial Court concerned forthwith for necessary information and compliance. Sd/- Sd/- (Bibhu Datta Guru) (Ramesh Sinha) Judge Chief Justice Jyoti