Madras High Court Acquits Man in POCSO Case, Citing Coached Victim Testimony

The Madras High Court has quashed the conviction and death sentence of a man accused of sexually exploiting five minor girls, citing serious doubts about the prosecution's evidence. A bench of Justices N. Anand Venkatesh and K.K. Ramakrishnan found that key portions of the victims' statements appeared to be rote-learned, suggesting they had been coached before giving statements to police and testifying in court.

The bench noted that all victims claimed identical details and said they were unaware of alleged abuse involving other victims, raising concerns about the consistency and authenticity of their testimonies. The court observed that such uniformity in statements created grave suspicion about their reliability.

The High Court stated that justice cannot be achieved by sacrificing a vulnerable person to favor another, and that while children must be protected by law, an accused cannot be convicted without solid evidence. The court emphasized that convictions must rest on concrete factual foundations.