In a significant ruling under the POCSO Act, the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) has upheld the conviction of a 59-year-old grandfather for the aggravated penetrative sexual assault of his 13-year-old granddaughter, while reducing the sentence from life imprisonment (remainder of natural life) to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment. The Court said that a defence of false implication based on a right-of-way dispute, unsupported by concrete material showing a motive to falsely implicate, cannot outweigh the victim’s credible testimony corroborated by DNA and medical evidence.
The High Court clarified that where the prosecution establishes an unbroken chain of custody of DNA samples through same-day collection, sealing, and forwarding to the Forensic Science Laboratory, the victim’s testimony inspires confidence and is corroborated by medical evidence, and the delay in lodging the FIR is satisfactorily explained by parental shock and fear of social defamation, conviction under Section 6 of the POCSO Act is sustainable.
Briefly, the appellant, Pundalik @ Bandu s/o Daulat Zalake, aged about 59 years, was convicted by the Special Judge, Bhandara, for the offence punishable under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) and Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). The victim, a 13-year-old girl studying in 9th standard, was the cousin granddaughter of the accused and resided near his house in village Dhanala/Channa, Taluka Lakhani, District Bhandara.
In July 2018, while playing hide-and-seek with her friends, the victim went to the cattle shed of the accused to search for them, where the accused allegedly pressed her mouth, disrobed her, and subjected her to forceful sexual assault. The victim did not disclose the incident to anyone due to threats from the accused. The assault resulted in the victim’s pregnancy. When her mother noticed swelling in her legs and missed menstrual cycles, the victim was taken to Dr. Sima Kaware on March 15, 2019, who confirmed a pregnancy of 32–34 weeks.
The victim’s parents became unconscious upon learning of the pregnancy and, due to fear of social defamation, delayed approaching the police. The FIR was lodged on March 20, 2019, at Lakhani Police Station, and the victim delivered a male child on the same day. The DNA report confirmed that the accused and the victim were the biological parents of the child. The trial court convicted the accused and sentenced him to life imprisonment for the offence under Section 6 POCSO Act and six months rigorous imprisonment for the offence under Section 506 IPC.
The Division Bench comprising Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Justice Raj D. Wakode observed that the prosecution had successfully established the age of the victim as 13 years at the time of the incident through the birth certificate issued by the Municipal Council, Bhandara under Sections 12 and 17 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, corroborated by the testimony of victim, mother, and Sub-Registrar of Births and Deaths.
The Court held that the victim’s testimony was consistent, credible, and inspired confidence, and that she had adequately explained the non-disclosure of the incident to her sister and parents on account of the threat administered by the accused and the fear of being scolded. The Court noted that the medical evidence corroborated the victim’s version, as Dr. Milindkumar Bhute confirmed the delivery of a male child on March 20, 2019, and Dr. Sima Kaware confirmed the pregnancy of 32–34 weeks on March 15, 2019.
The Court further observed that the doctor had examined the accused on March 24, 2019, and certified him as capable of performing sexual activity. The Court found that the chain of custody of the DNA samples was duly established, as the DNA kits were brought from the Forensic Science Laboratory, Nagpur on March 22, 2019, the blood samples of the accused, victim, and child were collected on the same day by Dr. Narendradas Kulkurkar, and the sealed samples were handed over to Police Constable Sanjay Arkase, who delivered them to the Chemical Analyzer’s Office at Nagpur on the very same day, with the samples never being kept at the police station.
The Court held that the prosecution had complied with the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in Kattavellai @ Devakar v. State of Tamil Nadu [MANU/SC/0917/2025] regarding the collection, packaging, and forwarding of DNA samples. The Court observed that the delay in lodging the FIR was properly explained by the prosecution, the parents became unconscious upon learning of the pregnancy, the mother’s health deteriorated, and there was a genuine apprehension of social defamation.
The Court rejected the defence of false implication arising from a right-of-way dispute, observing that mere previous enmity, without concrete material, was insufficient to discard the victim’s evidence, particularly when corroborated by medical and scientific evidence. The Court further observed that the accused, being in a position of trust and dominance over the victim (her cousin grandfather), had betrayed the trust reposed in him and committed a heinous crime.
