60-year-old acquitted of charges of impregnating minor granddaughter

A 60-year-old man accused of assaulting and impregnating his 16-year-old granddaughter has been acquitted by a special POCSO court in Mumbai. The court ruled that the accused was not the biological father of the child based on DNA evidence, and noted that the victim had physical relations with a third person. The court also raised doubts about the victim's credibility, as she initially claimed to have had relations with a boy from the locality before accusing her grandfather.

Mumbai: Observing that the victim has physical relations with a third person, a special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court recently acquitted a 60-year-old man who was arrested for physically assaulting his 16-year-old granddaughter with cigarette buts and impregnating her. The court let off the accused as the DNA report did not show him to be the biological father of the girl’s child.

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On June 21, 2018, the accused approached the police after the girl fainted in the house and was taken to Bhabha Hospital. At the hospital, the girl was found to be pregnant and was referred to KEM hospital, where she delivered a baby girl on June 22, 2018. Therefore, initially, a case against an unknown person was registered. In her first statement, the victim had claimed that she had physical relations with a boy from their locality after which she conceived.

However, on July 10, 2018, the girl gave another statement wherein she informed the police that her grandfather had forceful sexual relations with her, and he also threatened her for preventing her from disclosing his act to anyone else. The victim also told police about harassment by her grandfather by burning her private part with cigarettes or matchsticks. Based on the victim’s statement, the police arrested the victim’s grandfather on July 12, 2018.

During the trial, it was noted that when she first went to see a doctor, she told her age to be 18 and the prosecution could not prove her age to be below 18 years when the girl could have conceived.

Besides, it was brought to the notice of the court that the girl used to escape from the house and return only after a few days. During that time, the court said that the girl could have approached the police against the alleged physical assault by her grandfather.

Furthermore, the DNA reports of the two accused – the boy whom she first named and her grandfather – were excluded from being the biological father of the child born to the victim. Hence, the court noted that the child was born through her relationship with a third person and not the accused.

“Hence, it is clear that the victim has physical relations with some third person whom she wants to protect. Considering her act of hiding the name of a person who is having physical relations with her, the oral evidence of the girl does not appear trustworthy,” the court observed on Monday while acquitting the grandfather.