Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Monday set aside a Bankura trial court order sentencing an accused to three years of imprisonment under the Pocso Act. Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, in his order, acquitted the accused of all charges.
"I am of the opinion that the prosecution has failed to lay down the foundational facts for attracting provisions of Section 29 and 30 of the Pocso Act. The testimony of the victim girl or her relations do not lay down a consistent state of facts," Justice Ghosh said.
He pointed to "material inconsistencies" and "contradictions" in the version witnesses gave before the court and their statements made before the police at the time of initiation of the FIR.
The counsel for the accused had moved the high court against the trial court order on July 27, 2022. The case relates to the alleged abuse of a minor girl by a person while she was on her way to a private tuition class in Bishnupur.