{"id":364745,"date":"2025-10-25T12:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T06:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=364745"},"modified":"2025-10-29T17:01:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T11:31:24","slug":"uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Conviction more than shocking\u2019: Uttaranchal High Court suspends POCSO conviction; grants bail after victim pleads for accused\u2019s liberty"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Uttaranchal High Court:<\/span> In a criminal appeal filed by the accused seeking the suspension of his sentence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012<\/a> (‘POCSO’) and bail, a Division Bench of G. Narendar, CJ*<\/span>, and Alok Mahra, J., suspended the judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed by the Trial Court and allowed the bail application. The Court held that the conviction, particularly under the POCSO was based on no evidence at all, observing that the victim had turned hostile and denied a physical relationship, the medical report showed no signs of forceful sexual assault, and the forensic evidence did not establish any link between the traces of semen found and the accused. The Court observed that the victim had fervently pleaded for the accused’s (victim’s husband) release.<\/p>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

The matter originated from a written report filed by the victim’s father (the complainant). On 01-01-2022 at 10:00 P.M., the victim had left her house, stating her intent to go to her grandfather’s house to sleep, but it was found in the morning that she never reached her destination. Based on information from people that the accused had come to the village with his car and the victim had absconded with the accused.<\/p>\n

The police registered a case and commenced an investigation. The victim was subsequently found in the company of the accused who was arrested. The victim was subjected to medical examination, and her date of birth was affirmed based on a school’s birth certificate. A charge-sheet was filed, charging the accused for offences punishable under Sections 363<\/a> & 376(2)(n)<\/a> of the Penal Code, 1860<\/a>, and Section 5(l) of the POCSO. The appellant was convicted by the Court of Special Sessions Judge. Aggrieved, the present petition was filed.<\/p>\n

Analysis and Decision<\/h3>\n

The Court noted that this was not a case of insufficient evidence, but a case of no evidence at all.<\/p>\n

The Court observed that the Trial Court’s judgment did not record any proof demonstrating the place of residence, whether in the form of a residential house or a hotel accommodation where the crime was committed. Hence, prima facie, there was no evidence as to where the crime was committed.<\/p>\n

The Court further observed that the victim turned hostile and denied any wrongdoing on the part of the accused. Furthermore, the victim, in her evidence, denied having had a physical relationship with the appellant. The Trial Court’s own record indicated that the victim submitted that she did not meet the accused in the village.<\/p>\n

The Court noted that the Trial Court had placed reliance upon the victim’s statement recorded under Section 164<\/a> of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973<\/a> (‘CrPC’). However, upon perusal of the exhibits marked during the trial, the Court found that the statement of the victim, said to be recorded under Section 164 CrPC, was not marked as an exhibit and was not made part of the record. The Court expressed its surprise that the Trial Court relied on this un-exhibited statement. The Court noted that on the mere fact that the clothes worn by the victim were taken by the Doctor, and she was subjected to medical examination, the Trial Court appears to have presumed commission of an offence under Clause (l) of Section 5 of the POCSO Act.<\/p>\n

The medical expert recorded that there was no sign of injury anywhere on her body or private parts, and specifically that there was no swelling, bruises or cuts on or around the genitals. The Doctor’s final opinion was that there were no signs of forceful sexual assault. While the FSL report recorded that traces of human semen were found on the innerwear of the victim, the Court noted that there was no finding by the FSL that the traces of semen found were that of the accused.<\/p>\n

The Court held that in the absence of critical evidence relating to the place of commission of the offence, or any forensic evidence linking the accused to the crime, the judgment of conviction was more than shocking, and the finding of guilt, particularly under Section 5(l) of the POCSO was unsustainable.<\/p>\n

The Court noted that the Supreme Court in In Re: Right to Privacy of Adolescents<\/span>, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2055<\/a>, addressed a POCSO case where the victim, an adolescent, was failed by the State and society, leading her to seek shelter with the accused and subsequently form a family unit. The legal battle caused more trauma than the crime, and to prevent further injustice to the victim and her child, the Supreme Court invoked its special power under Article 142 to reduce the accused’s sentence. The judgment asserted the State’s failure to perform its constitutional obligation under Article 21 of the Constitution to provide immediate care and rehabilitation to adolescent victims, thereby necessitating compliance with Section 19(6) of the POCSO, and further called for a nuanced approach by the High Courts when dealing with adolescent relationships under the POCSO.<\/p>\n

The Court noted that the victim fervently pleaded to positively consider the bail application of the accused. Further, the victim was currently working as a housemaid, earning Rs. 12,000\/-, living alone to financially support herself and finance the legal battle on behalf of the accused, who is undergoing incarceration. The victim expressed that the trauma she was undergoing was on account of the application of the law, as she was reduced to a hapless position due to the judgment of conviction and sentencing of the accused.<\/p>\n

The Court observed that the accused had made out a case for the grant of bail. The Court allowed the application and suspended the judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed by the Court of Special Sessions Judge. The accused was directed to be forthwith set at liberty. Given the submission that the accused is virtually an orphan and was only eking out his livelihood as a driver, the Court directed that the accused shall be released on deposit of a sum of Rs. 10,000 in terms of Section 445 of the CrPC instead of furnishing a surety, upon executing a personal bond for the same sum.<\/p>\n

[Rampal v. State of Uttarakhand, 2025 SCC OnLine Utt 3615<\/a>, decided on 17-10-2025<\/span>]<\/p>\n

*Judgment by Justice G. Narendar, Chief Justice<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Advocates who appeared in this case :<\/p>\n

For the Appellant:<\/span> Priyanshu Gairola<\/p>\n

For the Petitioner:<\/span> Manisha Bhandari, petitioner-in-person with Shashwat Sidhant and Ishita Dhaila<\/p>\n

For the State:<\/span> J.S. Virk, Deputy Advocate General with Rakesh Joshi, Brief Holder.<\/p>\n

For the Complainant:<\/span> Siddhartha Bankoti and Divya Jain<\/p>\n

Buy Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012   HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"protection<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy Penal Code, 1860   HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"penal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“This is not a case of insufficient evidence, but a case of no evidence at all.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67517,"featured_media":364746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[2664,11941,91421,91422,23524,75468,33816,2520,35263],"class_list":["post-364745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-Bail","tag-crpc","tag-hostile-victim","tag-in-re-right-to-privacy-of-adolescents","tag-pocso-act","tag-section-5-pocso-act","tag-suspension-of-sentence","tag-Uttarakhand_High_Court","tag-uttaranchal-high-court"],"yoast_head":"\nUtt HC suspends POCSO conviction, grants bail | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Utt High Court suspended conviction and sentence under the POCSO prima facie finding no evidence at all and considering victim\u2019s plea for accused\u2019s liberty.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Conviction more than shocking\u2019: Uttaranchal High Court suspends POCSO conviction; grants bail after victim pleads for accused\u2019s liberty\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Utt High Court suspended conviction and sentence under the POCSO prima facie finding no evidence at all and considering victim\u2019s plea for accused\u2019s liberty.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SCC Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-25T06:30:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-29T11:31:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/POCSO-conviction.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"886\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"590\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"\u2018Conviction more than shocking\u2019: Uttaranchal High Court suspends POCSO conviction; grants bail after victim pleads for accused\u2019s liberty\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/\",\"name\":\"Utt HC suspends POCSO conviction, grants bail | SCC Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/POCSO-conviction.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-25T06:30:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-29T11:31:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/84913f82186a8dea042dc300d5751624\"},\"description\":\"Utt High Court suspended conviction and sentence under the POCSO prima facie finding no evidence at all and considering victim\u2019s plea for accused\u2019s liberty.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/POCSO-conviction.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/POCSO-conviction.webp\",\"width\":886,\"height\":590,\"caption\":\"POCSO conviction\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Conviction more than shocking\u2019: Uttaranchal High Court suspends POCSO conviction; grants bail after victim pleads for accused\u2019s liberty\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SCC Times\",\"description\":\"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/84913f82186a8dea042dc300d5751624\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d822f35f9fcd11386aa47345cde7945e45a64da7205eebe9784f21d0cd223603?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d822f35f9fcd11386aa47345cde7945e45a64da7205eebe9784f21d0cd223603?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/scc-online-editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Utt HC suspends POCSO conviction, grants bail | SCC Times","description":"Utt High Court suspended conviction and sentence under the POCSO prima facie finding no evidence at all and considering victim\u2019s plea for accused\u2019s liberty.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Conviction more than shocking\u2019: Uttaranchal High Court suspends POCSO conviction; grants bail after victim pleads for accused\u2019s liberty","og_description":"Utt High Court suspended conviction and sentence under the POCSO prima facie finding no evidence at all and considering victim\u2019s plea for accused\u2019s liberty.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/","og_site_name":"SCC Times","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/","article_published_time":"2025-10-25T06:30:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-29T11:31:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":886,"height":590,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/POCSO-conviction.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"\u2018Conviction more than shocking\u2019: Uttaranchal High Court suspends POCSO conviction; grants bail after victim pleads for accused\u2019s liberty","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/","name":"Utt HC suspends POCSO conviction, grants bail | SCC Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/POCSO-conviction.webp","datePublished":"2025-10-25T06:30:08+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-29T11:31:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/84913f82186a8dea042dc300d5751624"},"description":"Utt High Court suspended conviction and sentence under the POCSO prima facie finding no evidence at all and considering victim\u2019s plea for accused\u2019s liberty.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/POCSO-conviction.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/POCSO-conviction.webp","width":886,"height":590,"caption":"POCSO conviction"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/25\/uttaranchal-hc-suspends-pocso-conviction-grants-bail-victims-plea\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Conviction more than shocking\u2019: Uttaranchal High Court suspends POCSO conviction; grants bail after victim pleads for accused\u2019s liberty"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/","name":"SCC Times","description":"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/84913f82186a8dea042dc300d5751624","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d822f35f9fcd11386aa47345cde7945e45a64da7205eebe9784f21d0cd223603?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d822f35f9fcd11386aa47345cde7945e45a64da7205eebe9784f21d0cd223603?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/scc-online-editor\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/POCSO-conviction.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":351933,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/06\/30\/uttaranchal-hc-orders-retrial-of-blind-pocso-accused\/","url_meta":{"origin":364745,"position":0},"title":"Know why Uttaranchal High Court ordered a retrial of a blind man accused under POCSO","author":"Editor","date":"June 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe failure to provide documents to the accused in a language in which the accused could not read, would definitely scuttle the chances for the accused to instruct and assist his counsel in canvassing the defence on his behalf.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Retrial of blind POCSO accused","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Retrial-of-blind-POCSO-accused.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Retrial-of-blind-POCSO-accused.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Retrial-of-blind-POCSO-accused.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Retrial-of-blind-POCSO-accused.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":346627,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/04\/28\/alcohol-fueled-attempt-to-grope-breasts-not-attempted-rape-calcutta-high-court-legal-news\/","url_meta":{"origin":364745,"position":1},"title":"[POCSO] Alcohol-Fueled attempt to grope breasts not attempted rape: Calcutta High Court","author":"Arunima","date":"April 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe evidence of the victim girl and the medical examination report prima facie do not indicate that there was any penetration or rape committed by the petitioner on the victim girl nor that he attempted to penetrate.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calcutta High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Calcutta-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Calcutta-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Calcutta-High-Court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Calcutta-High-Court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":323198,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/05\/29\/utthc-commutes-death-sentence-of-man-convicted-for-committing-rape-on-stepsister-scc-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":364745,"position":2},"title":"[POCSO] Uttaranchal HC commutes death sentence to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for man who committed rape on his stepsister","author":"Simranjeet","date":"May 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Court opined that the prosecution did not place any material or evidence to conclude that reformation, rehabilitation, and social re-integration of the accused into society was not possible.","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Uttaranchal High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/blog.psd-2.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/blog.psd-2.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/blog.psd-2.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/blog.psd-2.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":375484,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/12\/bom-hc-pocso-convict-life-sentence-commuted-12-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":364745,"position":3},"title":"Bombay HC commutes POCSO convict’s life sentence to 12 years; cites his constructive participation in education and Gandhian thoughts","author":"Soumya Yadav","date":"February 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe accused was only 20 years of age at the time when the offence took place, as reflected in the FIR, and was not released on bail even during Covid-19.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"POCSO convict life term commuted","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/POCSO-convict-life-term-commuted.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/POCSO-convict-life-term-commuted.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/POCSO-convict-life-term-commuted.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/POCSO-convict-life-term-commuted.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":343558,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/03\/13\/conviction-pocso-ipc-higher-punishment-supreme-court\/","url_meta":{"origin":364745,"position":4},"title":"Law with ‘greater degree’ of punishment applies when convicted under IPC and POCSO both: Supreme Court","author":"Apoorva","date":"March 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe provisions of Section 42A of POCSO Act, cannot be interpreted so as to override the scope and ambit of enabling provision, i.e., Section 42 of POCSO Act.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Conviction under POCSO and IPC","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Conviction-under-POCSO-and-IPC.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Conviction-under-POCSO-and-IPC.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Conviction-under-POCSO-and-IPC.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Conviction-under-POCSO-and-IPC.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":373163,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/01\/19\/del-hc-rubbing-penis-against-childs-private-part-not-penetrative-sexual-assault-under-pocso-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":364745,"position":5},"title":"Rubbing penis against child’s private part not ‘Penetrative Sexual Assault’ under POCSO Act; Delhi HC modifies sentence","author":"Ritu","date":"January 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe accused in this case was a doctor to whom the child was sent for medicine. The accused was in a position of authority and trust, and it was such a position that had been misused by him\u2026 In such circumstances, no leniency is called for.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Penetrative Sexual Assault under POCSO Act","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Penetrative-Sexual-Assault-under-POCSO-Act.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Penetrative-Sexual-Assault-under-POCSO-Act.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Penetrative-Sexual-Assault-under-POCSO-Act.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Penetrative-Sexual-Assault-under-POCSO-Act.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67517"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}