Delhi High Court Upholds Conviction Of Father For Repeatedly Raping 9-Yr-Old Daughter, Says Witnesses' Credibility Unshaken

The Delhi High Court has upheld the conviction and 10 year sentence of a father for raping his 9 year old minor daughter repeatedly every night in 2017.Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said that the father was unable to shake the credibility of any of the witnesses who supported the prosecution case by thorough examination and did not point any fatal gaps in the prosecution case or explained the findings in the MLC or FSL report.“The prosecution has been able to lay the foundation of the facts and under and thus brought into play Section 29 of the POCSO Act, and that presumption the appellant has miserably failed to rebut,” the Court said. The judge dismissed the plea of the father challenging his conviction and sentence in the POCSO case. The Court said that though the oral testimonies of the child victim and her mother did not support the prosecution's case as they had turned hostile, the medical and forensic evidence points to the father's involvement in the offence.It added that after employing caution and separating the truth from the exaggeration, lies and improvements, the Court can come to the conclusion that the residuary evidence is sufficient to secure a conviction.“Thus, the evidence of a hostile witness cannot be written off and the same has to be considered with due care and circumspection. The evidence of 'hostile witness' which finds corroboration from the facts of the case and other reliable evidence can be relied upon,” the Court said. “Though the child victim and her mother have turned hostile, it cannot be lost sight of that the appellant/accused is the father of the child victim. It would be prudent to look at other materials placed on record to check whether the conviction of the appellant was merited,” it added. Furthermore, the Court noted that the DNA profile generated from the source exhibits- rectal swab and smear of the child victim as well as her underwear, matched with the DNA profile generated from the blood sample of the father. “This Court, has thoroughly examined the records and finds no reason to differ with the conclusion arrived at by the trial court. Consequently, the appeal is dismissed and the impugned judgment convicting the appellant as well as the order on sentence are upheld,” the Court said.Title: X v. STATE (NCTD) AND ANRCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1025Click here to read order

Delhi High Court Upholds Conviction Of Father For Repeatedly Raping 9-Yr-Old Daughter, Says Witnesses' Credibility Unshaken

Nupur Thapliyal

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