Overview
- A Thane POCSO court, whose order was issued April 27 and made available Thursday, cleared a 23-year-old cousin after the minor complainant and key relatives retracted their statements.
- In a separate Thane case, an order dated April 18 acquitted a 34-year-old accused of raping and impregnating his sister-in-law after the woman testified the relationship was consensual and no abuse of a trust position was proven under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
- In Delhi, an April 13 judgment by ASJ Vishal Pahuja acquitted Bilal Ahmed alias Sheelu after the court concluded a nearly three-year romance did not support allegations of rape on a false promise of marriage.
- On the miscarriage allegation in the Delhi case, the court said no medical records tied the accused to the pregnancy or any termination, so the charge could not stand.
- The rulings highlight how sex-offence prosecutions under the BNS and the child-protection law POCSO often fail when core facts lack corroboration or witnesses turn hostile, even when age is proven in cases involving minors.