Delhi High Court Upholds Conviction in Minor Assault Case

The Delhi High Court on August 10 upheld the conviction of a man accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old homeless boy in 2016, rejecting arguments that the survivor’s testimony was unreliable due to inconsistencies in his account of the incident and his age. Justice Chandrasekharan Sudha, in a judgment published on August 15, 2026, affirmed the trial court’s August 2025 decision to convict the accused under Section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 (Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. However, the court reduced the sentence from 20 years to 10 years, citing that the enhanced penalty under POCSO—effective from August 16, 2019—could not be applied retroactively to the 2016 offence (The Hindu).

The case stemmed from an incident in November 2016, when the minor, who was sleeping under a railway bridge at Kashmere Gate in Delhi, alleged he was assaulted by the accused. Social workers conducting a free medical aid programme in the area reported the crime to police after the boy disclosed the assault. The accused’s counsel argued during the appeal that the prosecution failed to prove the boy was under 12 years old at the time and highlighted discrepancies in his testimony, including his description of the clothing he wore during the incident. The court, however, dismissed these claims, noting that the survivor’s inability to provide exact details about his age or the event was “unrealistic” given his socio-economic background. School records confirmed his date of birth as October 12, 2005, establishing he was 11 years old during the assault (The Hindu).

The High Court also rejected the defense’s contention that the absence of external injuries on the minor undermined his credibility. The judgment emphasized that the survivor’s testimony was “consistent and trustworthy,” even in the absence of physical evidence, and that such omissions did not disprove the crime. The court further observed that the accused had failed to provide any plausible reason for being falsely implicated, leaving no grounds to overturn the conviction (The Hindu).

The ruling highlights the legal framework governing sexual offences against children in India, particularly the interplay between the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code. While the trial court had imposed a 20-year sentence under the amended POCSO Act, which mandates a minimum term of 20 years for aggravated penetrative sexual assault, the High Court noted that the law could not be applied retroactively. At the time of the offence in 2016, the maximum penalty under Section 6 of POCSO was 10 years, leading to the reduction in the sentence (The Hindu).

The judgment underscores the challenges in prosecuting sexual assault cases involving vulnerable witnesses, particularly homeless children, and the judiciary’s approach to balancing legal technicalities with the need for justice. No further appeals or pending actions were mentioned in the court’s order.