BENGALURU: Refusing to quash proceedings against a faculty of the central premier research institute in the city who has been booked under the provisions of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act for his alleged sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl, the Karnataka High Court directed the special court to conclude the trial within three months since considerable time has been passed after the incident.
“The allegation is that the daughter of the complainant was playing and the petitioner, an Assistant Professor, was standing behind the window screen. After some time, the petitioner comes and touches the hips and further touched the private parts of the daughter with the clothes on. This is one statement. The other statements are identical in that the petitioner has touched them in the same manner that he has touched the daughter of the de facto complainant... The law is well settled that even one credible statement - if sufficient - can call for a trial,”, said Justice M Nagaprasanna while rejecting the petition filed by the accused faculty.
According to the complaint dated September 30, 2018, the accused is an Assistant Professor. When his nine-year-old daughter wanted to celebrate her birthday, all the neighbouring apartment residents near the research institute were invited.
During the birthday party, some children preferred to play a ‘scary house’ in a dark room, in the master bedroom of the accused, and one child is said to have poked into the eye of another. The situation resulted in panic and therefore, the accused went inside the room to bring the children out of the dark room and committed the sexual assault.
After the party was over, the children said to have dispersed and went to their respective houses. On the same day about 9.30 pm, the father of the victim came to the residence of the accused along with other men and women accusing him of having touched the girl during the birthday party inappropriately. A complaint was registered the next day.
The accused was arrested and, later, released on bail. After completion of the investigation, the police have filed the chargesheet. During the pendency of the trial, the accused moved the high court challenging the filing of the charge sheet, the order of taking cognisance on the ground of large-scale violation in the procedure adopted by the special court.
Refuting the submissions of the counsel of the petitioner, Additional State Public Prosecutor BN Jagadeesha argued that the petitioner not only touched the child but touched several children inappropriately misusing the darkness in the room. All the contentions of the petitioner are a matter of trial, he argued.