The Supreme Court has suspended the life sentence of a convict in a POCSO case, observing that the trial court failed to consider crucial aspects of the prosecutrix’s statement recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC.

A Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh allowed the appeal filed by the accused, setting aside the Rajasthan High Court’s order which had refused to suspend the sentence during the pendency of appeal.

The appellant had been convicted under Sections 3 and 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sentenced to life imprisonment. Challenging the denial of suspension of sentence, the appellant pointed to the prosecutrix’s statement which allegedly implicated another individual, who was not even arraigned as an accused in the case.

The Court took note of this aspect and observed that the trial court had not considered the said statement. It held that “there are arguable issues involved in the pending appeal,” warranting suspension of sentence.

Accordingly, the Court set aside the High Court’s order, suspended the sentence of the appellant, and directed his release on bail subject to conditions imposed by the trial court, pending disposal of the criminal appeal

Appearances:
For Petitioner(s) Mr. Namit Saxena, AOR
For Respondent(s) Mr. Saurabh Rajpal, Adv.; Mr. Vinay Kumar Singh, Adv.; Ms. Nidhi Jaswal, AOR