Madras HC Sets Aside POCSO Death Sentence, Acquits Accused

Tutored Child Testimony and Unfair Trial: Madras High Court Sets Aside POCSO Death Sentence, Acquits Accused

Published: 13 September 2026 · NyayVidhan

The Madras High Court answered a death reference against the prosecution and acquitted a man sentenced to death under the POCSO Act for alleged aggravated penetrative sexual assault on five children (paras 1, 30). It found material improvements and signs of tutoring in the children's evidence, no medical corroboration, and a trial that denied him effective legal representation (paras 17, 21, 28). Compensation paid to the children need not be recovered (para 29).

Key holdings

Each child described differently how they reached the accused's house; their later near-identical versions indicated tutoring (paras 11, 21).

The nine-day delay was unexplained: no school witness proved the awareness programme, and the threats were absent from the Section 164 statements (paras 14-16).

No injuries were found, and the mobile phone said to have drawn the children was never recovered (paras 17-18).

Conviction under Section 4 without a charge, and a trial without effective legal aid, could not stand (paras 22, 27-28).

Compensation already paid to the children need not be recovered (para 29).

Judgment digest by NyayVidhan: a summary of the court's judgment, not its text. The judgment itself is the authoritative version.

Brief Facts

The Principal Sessions Court (POCSO Act Cases), Sivagangai convicted the accused on 20.04.2026 under Sections 5(l) and 5(m) read with Section 6 and Section 3 read with Section 4 of the POCSO Act and Section 506(ii) IPC, and sentenced him to death for the Section 5(m) offence (paras 1, 8). The prosecution case was that on 04.02.2024 and earlier he lured five children under twelve to his house to play games on his mobile phone and sexually assaulted them (paras 3, 7, 8). The complaint was lodged on 13.02.2024; the prosecution said the children disclosed the abuse after a school ‘good touch–bad touch’ programme (para 14). The death sentence was referred for confirmation and the accused appealed (paras 1-2).

Court's Findings

A death reference requires an independent reappraisal of the whole evidence; the POCSO Act does not dilute proof beyond reasonable doubt, and foundational facts must be proved before its presumptions apply (para 6). Each child gave a different account of how they reached the house (para 11). Successive assaults in a small house without a door or window, amid neighbouring houses, while the children screamed, drew no one, which the Court found improbable (paras 12, 24). The nine-day delay was not explained: no teacher proved the awareness programme, and the threats were missing from the Section 164 statements (paras 14-16). The Medical Officer found no injuries, and his opinion rested on the history given (para 17). The mobile phone was never recovered (para 18), and the record did not show that the screened child witnesses identified the accused (para 19). Their near-identical versions indicated tutoring (paras 21, 23). The trial court convicted under Section 4 without a charge (para 22). With the engaged lawyer absent on material dates, no effective legal aid and no proper competency questioning of the children, the proceedings were reduced to "a mockery of the constitutional guarantee of a fair trial" (paras 27-28).

Legal Principle

In a POCSO death reference the High Court must reappraise the evidence independently. Where child witnesses' testimony shows material improvements over their Section 164 statements, signs of tutoring and inherent improbabilities, without medical or other corroboration, and the trial denied effective legal representation, the accused is entitled to the benefit of doubt (paras 6, 10, 26, 28).

Precedents Relied Upon

Masalti v. State of U.P. AIR 1965 SC 202
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 6.1.2
In confirmation proceedings the High Court must consider the whole evidence for itself, uninfluenced by the Sessions Court, and be satisfied that guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt and the death sentence is justified.
State of T.N. v. Rajendran (1999) 8 SCC 679
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 6.1.2
In a death reference the High Court must reappraise the entire facts and law and reach its own independent conclusion.
State of M.P. v. Balveer Singh (2025) 8 SCC 545
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 10.2
Principles for evaluating a child witness: preliminary competency examination, corroboration where the evidence is tutored or riddled with discrepancies, and how tutoring is to be established.

View all precedents (10)

Parminder Kaur v. State of Punjab (2020) 8 SCC 811
Applied Discussed at ¶ 14.4, 14.6
Delay in registering an FIR for sexual offences must be judged on the facts of each case and the conduct of the parties.
Aman Kumar v. State of Haryana (2004) 4 SCC 379
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 15.2, 17.8
Irreconcilable discrepancies between the version in court and the one given during investigation, and the significance of injuries in assessing an allegation of forcible penetration.
State of Jharkhand v. Shailendra Kumar Rai @ Pandav Rai 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1494
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 17.7
The condition of the hymen is not decisive either to prove or disprove penetrative sexual assault.
Digamber Vaishnav v. State of Chhattisgarh (2019) 4 SCC 522
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 6.5.3, 10.1, 26.2
Suspicion cannot take the place of proof; a child witness is easily tutored; where two views are possible, the one favourable to the accused must be adopted.
Anokhilal v. State of M.P. (2019) 20 SCC 196
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 27.5, 27.5.4
Legal aid must be real and meaningful: counsel for an accused must have adequate time and opportunity to prepare and consult the accused.
Imtiyaz Ramzan Khan v. State of Maharashtra 2018 (9) SCC 160
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 27.5.1, 27.5.2
An accused in custody must be given a meaningful opportunity to communicate with legal-aid counsel, including by video-conferencing.
Pradeep v. State of Haryana 2023 SCC OnLine SC 777
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 28.2
Before recording a minor's evidence the trial judge must put preliminary questions to ascertain competency; non-compliance casts doubt on the testimony.