A.Muthupandi vs The State of Tamil Nadu
- Court
- Madras High Court
CRL A(MD) No. 246 of 2025
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED: 12-11-2026
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE D.LINGESWARAN
Crl.A(MD) No.246 of 2025
CNR:{HCMD010211882025}
A.Muthupandi
Now confined at Central Prison,
Madurai.
..Appellant
Vs
The State of Tamil Nadu
Rep by the Inspector of Police,
Devadhanapatti Police station,
Devadhanapatti,
Theni District.
Crime No.411/2023
..Respondent
PRAYER: This Criminal Appeal under Section 415(2) of BNSS, to set
aside the judgment made in Spl.S.C.No.17 of 2024 on the file of the
learned Sessions Judge, Special Court for POCSO Act Cases, Theni,
Theni District, dated 19.12.2024.
For Appellant :Mr.Ramasamy.S
For Respondent :Mr.A.Robinson
Additional Public Prosecutor
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JUDGMENT
This Criminal Appeal is filed challenging the judgment passed
against the appellant in Spl.S.C.No.17 of 2024 by the learned Sessions
Judge, Special Court for POCSO Act Cases, Theni, Theni District,
dated 19.12.2024.
The case
2. The case of the prosecution is that on 26.10.2023 at about
7.00 p.m. the appellant committed sexual assault on the survivor, a child
aged just 10 years. On the next day, a First Information Report was
lodged with the respondent Police, and Crime No.411 of 2023 was
registered against the appellant under Sections 8 and 9(m) of the
POCSO Act, 2012. The Inspector of Police took up the investigation,
recorded the statements of witnesses, collected documentary evidence
and filed a final report before the Principal Special Court for POCSO
Act Cases, Theni, where the case was numbered as Spl.S.C.No.17 of
2024. A charge was framed under Section 9(m) read with Section 10 of
the POCSO Act, 2012. The accused pleaded not guilty, and the trial was
ordered.
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3. The prosecution examined 17 witnesses and exhibited 11
documents. The defence examined 2 witnesses. No material object was
marked on either side. Considering the entire evidence on record, the
learned Trial Judge concluded that the prosecution had proved the guilt
of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. The Trial Judge convicted the
appellant under Section 10 of the POCSO Act, 2012 and sentenced him
to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years and to pay a fine of
Rs.10,000/-, with a default clause. Aggrieved by the judgment of
conviction and sentence, the appellant has preferred this appeal.
4. Heard both sides.
5. Point for Consideration
Whether the conviction and sentence passed against the
appellant by the Trial Court are sustainable?
Arguments:
6. The learned counsel for the appellant contended that PW1 had
illicit intimacy with one of the listed witnesses (LW7), that the appellant
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questioned PW1 about it, and that this led to a quarrel between them. He
argued that, because of this enmity, LW7 induced PW1 to give a false
complaint against the appellant through PW2. To support this argument,
he drew the attention of this Court to the suggestions put to PW1 and
PW2 on the point and relied on the evidence of DW1 and DW2. In the
alternative, he argued that, at the worst, the appellant had only pushed
the child, which cannot be construed as sexual assault, and he prayed for
the acquittal of the appellant.
7. Per contra, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor relied on
the evidence of PW2 and PW4. PW2 is the survivor; she clearly
identified the appellant and narrated her ordeal in her evidence. The
evidence of PW4 corroborates her version. The learned Additional
Public Prosecutor further argued that both the survivor and the
eyewitness withstood the rigour of cross examination. He therefore
prayed that the conviction of the appellant under Section 10 of the
POCSO Act, 2012, be upheld.
8. This Court has carefully considered the rival submissions of
both sides.
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Discussion and Findings:
9. Ex.P6 is an extract from the school admission register, proved
by the Headmaster of the school (PW10), in which the survivor studied.
It records her date of birth as 29.06.2013. The date of occurrence was
26.10.2023, so on that date, the survivor had completed only 10 years of
age. She is therefore a child within the meaning of Section 2(1)(d) of the
POCSO Act, 2012, and is entitled to all the protection under the Act.
10. The occurrence took place at about 7.00 p.m. on 26.10.2023.
The survivor called the child helpline (1098) on the same night and
complained about it. The First Information Report was registered the
next day at 7.00 p.m. (Ex.P8), roughly 24.00 hours after the occurrence.
Families are normally hesitant to approach the Police with complaints
of sexual harassment or sexual assault, and here the delay is further
explained by the fact that the father of the survivor was away from
home and was working at Madurai. PW1 stated in her evidence that the
child had called the child helpline on the very night of the occurrence,
and not even a suggestion was put to PW1 to doubt that call. This Court
therefore holds that there was no delay of any significance in lodging
the First Information with the Police, and that the appellant suffered no
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CRL A(MD) No. 246 of 2025
prejudice on this account.
11. PW2 is the survivor. Her competency to give evidence was
tested at the outset, and she gave rational answers to the questions put
to her, which established her competency. In her evidence, she clearly
identified the appellant as her assailant. He was already known to the
child, so this is not a case of mistaken identity, and the appellant did
not dispute the identification. She stated that she asked the appellant for
his phone to call her mother. The appellant gave her the phone, and she
tried to call her mother, but mobile phone of her mother was switched
off, so she returned it to the appellant. At that juncture, the appellant
grabbed the hand and breast of the child. The child tried to escape, but
the appellant persisted in his assault despite her pleas. When PW4
rushed to the spot, the child released herself from the clutches of the
appellant. She also spoke about the presence of PW4 and about the
PW4 conveyed the matter to PW3.
12. PW2 further stated that she called 1098, the child helpline,
on the same night. Her statement under Section 164 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure (Ex.P2) was duly recorded and was proved by
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the witness. PW2 withstood cross examination and she denied the
suggestion that her mother had induced her to give false evidence
against the appellant.
13. PW3 corroborates PW2. She stated that PW4 brought the
child to her, told her that the child was crying, and asked her to enquire
of the child. PW4 is an independent eyewitness to the occurrence. He
identified the appellant and stated that the survivor obtained the phone
from the appellant and tried to call someone. As no one answered, she
returned the phone to the appellant. PW4 stated that the appellant then
pulled the child by her hand and pressed her breast, and that the child
cried. PW4 then took the child to the house of PW3 and asked her to
enquire of the child. He too withstood the cross examination, and
nothing was elicited to discredit his evidence. Not even a suggestion
was put to PW4 denying the occurrence or his presence in the scene.
14. PW5 saw the survivor immediately after the occurrence. She
stated that the child was crying and complained to her that the appellant
had misbehaved with her and pressed her breast. The child thus
complained of the sexual assault immediately after it occurred, and that
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CRL A(MD) No. 246 of 2025
complaint is relevant under Section 8, Illustration (j), of the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872. It also shows that the account of the child was
consistent from the beginning.
15. PW6 is the father of the survivor. At the time of the
occurrence he was working at Madurai. He was informed of the
occurrence on the very same night. It is therefore understandable that
the complaint was lodged only on the following day, since the father
was away from home and the mother lodged the complaint on the next
day.
16. It is well settled that, in cases of sexual assault, the evidence
of the survivor alone is sufficient to prove the guilt of the accused. If
her evidence is believable, trustworthy and inspires the confidence of
the Court, a conviction can safely rest on her sole testimony. This
position has been reiterated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in
(Ganesan Vs. State (2020) 10 SCC 573).
17. In the case on hand, the survivor is not the only witness: an
independent witness, PW4, has also clearly implicated the appellant
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and narrated the sequence of events. The evidence of neither PW2 nor
PW4 could be shaken in cross examination. Their evidence is further
corroborated by PW1, PW3 and PW5, to whom the distress of the child
was disclosed immediately after the occurrence. Their accounts are
consistent with each other on the material particulars, namely the
borrowing of the phone, the grabbing of the hand and the pressing of
the breast. This Court therefore has no hesitation in upholding the
conviction of the appellant under Section 10 of the POCSO Act, 2012.
The prosecution has proved the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable
doubt.
18. The alternative plea that the appellant only pushed the child
cannot be accepted. PW2 and PW4, whose evidence has been found
reliable, both stated that the appellant pulled the child by her hand and
pressed her breast. That act is sexual assault, and it was committed on a
child below twelve years of age. The defence witnesses attempted to
cast aspersions on PW1 by suggesting illicit intimacy, but they failed to
sustain that defence in cross examination. Both are related to the
appellant and have an interest in securing his acquittal, and neither is
an eyewitness to the occurrence. Their evidence cannot outweigh the
consistent and corroborated evidence of PW2 and PW4, and the Trial
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Court rightly rejected it.
19. In these circumstances, this Court holds the accused guilty
under Section 10 of the POCSO Act, 2012. As to sentence, the Trial
Court imposed the minimum sentence of five years prescribed by the
Act, together with a fine of Rs.10,000/-. This Court cannot reduce the
minimum sentence and therefore declines to interfere.
20. In the result, this Criminal Appeal is dismissed. The
conviction and sentence imposed on the appellant in Spl.S.C.No.17 of
2024 by the Principal Special Court for POCSO Act Cases, Theni, are
upheld.
12-11-2026
Index: Yes/No
Speaking/Non-speaking order
Neutral Citation: Yes/No
Indu
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CRL A(MD) No. 246 of 2025
To
1. The Superintended of Prison,
Central Prison, Madurai.
2. The Inspector of Police
Devadhanapatti Police station
Devadhanapatti
Theni District
3. The Additional Public Prosecutor
Madurai Bench of Madras High Court
Madurai
Copy To :
Section Officer ( VR Section )
Madurai Bench of Madras High Court
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CRL A(MD) No. 246 of 2025
D.LINGESWARAN, J.
Indu
Crl.A(MD) No.246 of 2025
12-11-2026
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