{"id":375238,"date":"2026-02-10T10:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T04:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=375238"},"modified":"2026-02-13T10:59:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T05:29:06","slug":"karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Karnataka HC’s order upholding acquittal in POCSO case; highlights victim’s inconsistent and untrustworthy statements"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Karnataka High Court:<\/span> In a criminal appeal challenging the acquittal of the accused for offences under Sections 366-A<\/a>, 376(1)<\/a>, 354-A<\/a> of the Penal Code, 1860<\/a> (‘IPC’) and Sections 3<\/a>, 4<\/a>, 7<\/a>, 8<\/a>, 11<\/a> and 12<\/a> of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012<\/a> (‘POCSO Act’), the Division Bench comprising H.P. Sandesh<\/span>* and Venkatesh Naik T, J.J., held that the prosecution had failed to establish the minority of the victim or prove the allegations of sexual assault through cogent and consistent evidence. The Court found that the testimony of the victim was materially inconsistent and the same is untrustworthy. Thus, the Court upheld the acquittal and accordingly, dismissed the appeal.<\/p>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

The case of the appellant-State was that the victim girl was a minor at the time of the incident. It was alleged that accused 2, known to the victim, took her on a scooter to a temple and later to a hotel where he allegedly touched her hands and legs and subjected her to sexual harassment. It was further alleged that accused 1 called her, induced her to accompany him on his motorcycle, and thereafter took her to an old house and committed forcible sexual intercourse without her consent.<\/p>\n

Based on the complaint, the Women Police Station filed a charge sheet for offences under the IPC and the POCSO Act. During the trial, the prosecution examined 24 witnesses and marked documentary and material exhibits. The accused denied the allegations and did not led any defence evidence.<\/p>\n

After considering the evidence, the Trial Court acquitted the accused. Aggrieved by the decision, the State preferred the present appeal seeking leave to challenge the acquittal.<\/p>\n

Issues<\/h3>\n

Whether the prosecution had successfully established that the victim was a minor so as to attract the provisions of the POCSO Act<\/doclink>, and whether the evidence on record proved the alleged acts of kidnapping, sexual assault and rape so as to warrant interference with the order of acquittal.<\/p>\n

Analysis<\/h3>\n

At the outset, the Court examined the Trial Court’s finding regarding proof of age. The Court noted that, except for the medical report indicating the age as approximately 17 years and 6 months, no reliable documentary evidence was produced to conclusively establish minority. The Court observed that where medical opinion is relied upon, an ossification test or similar scientific assessment would ordinarily be necessary, which had not been conducted.<\/p>\n

The Court further noted that the victim herself had admitted during evidence that she was about 18 years of age at the time of the incident. The father’s testimony regarding age was found to be inconsistent. In view of the contradictions between oral evidence and medical material, the Court held that the prosecution had failed to prove minority in the manner required by law. Consequently, the primary requirement for invoking the POCSO Act remained unestablished.<\/p>\n

The Court then considered the allegation of sexual assault and upon perusal of the victim’s testimony before the Trial Court as well as her statement recorded under Section 164(5)<\/a> of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973<\/a> (‘CrPC’), the Court found that she had not consistently alleged forcible sexual intercourse. The victim stated that the accused had touched her hands and legs and thereafter left her. The Section 164<\/a> of CrPC<\/a> statement also did not contain any specific assertion of a forcible sexual act.<\/p>\n

The Court observed that when the victim herself had not clearly and consistently spoken about sexual assault, the evidence of her father, which was merely hearsay, could not strengthen the prosecution’s case. The absence of medical corroboration further weakened the allegation of rape. With respect to accused 2, the Court noted that there was no material evidence substantiating the prosecution’s allegations. The CCTV evidence relied upon by the prosecution merely showed the victim’s presence and the accused at the hotel and did not establish any sexual offence.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, the Court concluded that in the absence of cogent and trustworthy evidence, invocation of offences under Sections 366-A<\/a>, 376<\/a>, 354-A<\/a> of the IPC<\/a> and the provisions of the POCSO Act was unsustainable.<\/p>\n

[State of Karnataka v. X., 2026 SCC OnLine Kar 561<\/a>, decided on 29-01-2026<\/span>]<\/p>\n

*Judgment authored by Justice H.P. Sandesh<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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

For the Appellant:<\/span> Rashmi Patel, High Court Government Pleader<\/p>\n

For the Respondents:<\/span> K. Prasanna Shetty, Advocate; Tejas N., Advocate ;Sachin G., Advocate; Renuka Devi, Advocate.<\/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

Buy Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973  HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

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

The Court observed that the victim admitted being about 18 years old, while her father’s evidence on age was inconsistent. With contradictions between oral and medical evidence, minority was not proved, and hence, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 could not be invoked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67011,"featured_media":375239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[98528,98527,13961,76267,97629,28334,45333,23524,31421,6191],"class_list":["post-375238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-acquittal-in-pocso-case","tag-inconsistent-testimony","tag-ipc","tag-justice-h-p-sandesh","tag-justice-venkatesh-naik-t","tag-karnataka-high-court","tag-ossification-test","tag-pocso-act","tag-protection-of-children-from-sexual-offences-act-2012","tag-sexual-assault"],"yoast_head":"\nKarnataka HC upholds POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements| SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Karnataka High Court upholds POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements and stated that the prosecution had also failed to prove the victim's minority.\" \/>\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\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inside Karnataka HC's order upholding acquittal in POCSO case; highlights victim's inconsistent and untrustworthy statements\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Karnataka High Court upholds POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements and stated that the prosecution had also failed to prove the victim's minority.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/\" \/>\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=\"2026-02-10T04:30:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-13T05:29:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/POCSO-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\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=\"Inside Karnataka HC's order upholding acquittal in POCSO case; highlights victim's inconsistent and untrustworthy statements\" \/>\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=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe\"},\"headline\":\"Inside Karnataka HC’s order upholding acquittal in POCSO case; highlights victim’s inconsistent and untrustworthy statements\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-10T04:30:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-13T05:29:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":747,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/POCSO-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"acquittal in POCSO case\",\"inconsistent testimony\",\"IPC\",\"Justice H.P. Sandesh\",\"Justice Venkatesh Naik T\",\"Karnataka High Court\",\"ossification test\",\"POCSO Act\",\"Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012\",\"sexual assault\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Case Briefs\",\"High Courts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/\",\"name\":\"Karnataka HC upholds POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements| SCC Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/POCSO-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-10T04:30:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-13T05:29:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe\"},\"description\":\"Karnataka High Court upholds POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements and stated that the prosecution had also failed to prove the victim's minority.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/POCSO-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/POCSO-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements.webp\",\"width\":800,\"height\":533,\"caption\":\"POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/10\\\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Inside Karnataka HC’s order upholding acquittal in POCSO case; highlights victim’s inconsistent and untrustworthy statements\"}]},{\"@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\\\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34e366be721c41333586de05faa13743195f5b142dcd7a015c6fabd2389521d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34e366be721c41333586de05faa13743195f5b142dcd7a015c6fabd2389521d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34e366be721c41333586de05faa13743195f5b142dcd7a015c6fabd2389521d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/author\\\/editor_4\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Karnataka HC upholds POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements| SCC Times","description":"Karnataka High Court upholds POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements and stated that the prosecution had also failed to prove the victim's minority.","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\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Inside Karnataka HC's order upholding acquittal in POCSO case; highlights victim's inconsistent and untrustworthy statements","og_description":"Karnataka High Court upholds POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements and stated that the prosecution had also failed to prove the victim's minority.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/","og_site_name":"SCC Times","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/","article_published_time":"2026-02-10T04:30:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-13T05:29:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":533,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/POCSO-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Inside Karnataka HC's order upholding acquittal in POCSO case; highlights victim's inconsistent and untrustworthy statements","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/"},"author":{"name":"Editor","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe"},"headline":"Inside Karnataka HC’s order upholding acquittal in POCSO case; highlights victim’s inconsistent and untrustworthy statements","datePublished":"2026-02-10T04:30:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-13T05:29:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/"},"wordCount":747,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/POCSO-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements.webp","keywords":["acquittal in POCSO case","inconsistent testimony","IPC","Justice H.P. Sandesh","Justice Venkatesh Naik T","Karnataka High Court","ossification test","POCSO Act","Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012","sexual assault"],"articleSection":["Case Briefs","High Courts"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/","name":"Karnataka HC upholds POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements| SCC Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/POCSO-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements.webp","datePublished":"2026-02-10T04:30:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-13T05:29:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe"},"description":"Karnataka High Court upholds POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements and stated that the prosecution had also failed to prove the victim's minority.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/POCSO-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/POCSO-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements.webp","width":800,"height":533,"caption":"POCSO acquittal over victim's unreliable statements"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/10\/karnataka-hc-pocso-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Inside Karnataka HC’s order upholding acquittal in POCSO case; highlights victim’s inconsistent and untrustworthy statements"}]},{"@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\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34e366be721c41333586de05faa13743195f5b142dcd7a015c6fabd2389521d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34e366be721c41333586de05faa13743195f5b142dcd7a015c6fabd2389521d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34e366be721c41333586de05faa13743195f5b142dcd7a015c6fabd2389521d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/editor_4\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/POCSO-acquittal-over-victims-unreliable-statements.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375238","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\/67011"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}