Uttaranchal High Court: A Division Bench of Ramesh Ranganathan, CJ and R.C. Khulbe, J., dismissed a writ petition that was filed questioning that whether sole testimony of the victim of sexual abuse was sufficient to hold the perpetrator guilty of misconduct in a departmental enquiry and whether dismissal of service imposed on the perpetrator as a consequence thereof was grossly disproportionate? The Court observed that sole testimony, of the victim of sexual abuse, was sufficient to hold the perpetrator guilty of misconduct in a departmental enquiry, if it was found reliable.
The petitioner was nominated, for the para-medic course for a three day period as a guest instructor for an outdoor exercise with trainees, for conducting a half day theory class, a half night march exercise at the S.S.B. Academy Gwaldum, and to impart them training on military topics such as night navigation and map reading. After completion of the night training exercise, the petitioner, along with several other members including the two lady trainees, sat in the cabin of a truck which was coming back to Gwaldum station. It is in the cabin of the truck that the petitioner is said to have molested one of the lady trainees, and to have sexually harassed her.
The Counsel for the petitioner, Sanjay Raturi, contended that he was held guilty on the self-serving sole testimony of the complainant (Trainee); no other witness had corroborated the complainant’s testimony; and the complainant’s self-serving evidence cannot form the basis for holding the petitioner guilty of the charges.
The Court noted the well settled principle laid down in various Supreme Court decisions that an evidence of the victim of sexual assault is enough for conviction, and it does not require any corroboration unless there are compelling reasons for seeking corroboration. The Bench observed that:
As the sole testimony of a prosecutrix, in a criminal case involving sexual harassment and molestation, would suffice if it is otherwise reliable, there is no justifiable reason not to accept the sole testimony of a victim, of sexual harassment and molestation, in a departmental inquiry as the enquiry held by a domestic Tribunal is not, unlike a Criminal Court, governed by the strict and technical rules of the Evidence Act. A disciplinary proceeding is not a criminal trial. The standard of proof required is that of preponderance of probabilities, and not proof beyond reasonable doubt. In the present case, the testimony of the complainant gives graphic and shocking details of acts of sexual molestation perpetrated by the petitioner on her so there isn’t any reason as to why the Enquiry Committee should be faulted for largely relying on the testimony of the complainant and there is no reason to interfere in the enquiry. [Bhuwan Chandra Pandey v. Union of India, 2020 SCC OnLine Utt 268 , decided on 15-06-2020]
