High Court Upholds Conviction Based on Child’s Testimony in Sexual Assault Case

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld the five-year sentence of a teacher convicted for sexually assaulting an eighth-grade student. The court dismissed the appeal filed by the accused, Sanjay Kumar, challenging his conviction and the sentence.

The High Court ruled that sexual assault cases involving children often occur in isolation, making it less likely to have eyewitnesses. In such cases, the child’s testimony alone can be enough to convict the accused. The court emphasized that delays in reporting abuse are common, especially when children hesitate to inform their parents or authorities.

The case in question involved a teacher who was convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl. The victim, after the assault, informed the school principal, but instead of taking appropriate action, the principal told the girl to remain silent. Despite the lack of physical evidence, the victim’s statement was deemed credible, and the court found the teacher guilty based on the child’s testimony.

Sanjay Kumar, the defendant, had argued in his appeal that the prosecution failed to provide any substantial evidence against him, and that the conviction was solely based on the victim’s statement, which he claimed was insufficient. However, the High Court ruled in favor of the victim’s testimony, acknowledging that such cases are often difficult to substantiate with physical evidence, and upheld the lower court’s judgment.

This ruling emphasizes the importance of children’s testimony in cases of sexual assault, especially when incidents occur in private settings where physical evidence may be scarce. The judgment reaffirms the legal principle that the statement of a child can be pivotal in convicting the accused in such sensitive cases.