High Court rejects old man’s appeal, life sentence remains intact in rape case

Bilaspur. The Division Bench of Chhattisgarh High Court Chief Justice Ramesh Kumar Sinha has said in its important decision that the credibility of the victim cannot be doubted by mere guesswork under the POCSO Act. The decision cannot be challenged on the basis of this assumption. The Division Bench has rejected the appeal of the 65-year-old man and upheld his life imprisonment. In fact, 65-year-old Gajju Lal Fekar of Palari police station area of Balodabazar district had raped a 13-year-old fifth class student on 25 February 2022. Finding the girl alone, he entered the house and raped her. Later the girl informed her family about this incident, after which a case was registered against her in the police station.

After this, the police arrested the accused Gajjulal, after which the police collected evidence against him and presented the challan in the fasttrack court. The trial court, after hearing the arguments of all the parties, convicted the accused under the POCSO Act. After which he was sentenced to life imprisonment and fine.
After hearing all the parties, the Division Bench of the High Court, while making important comments on the arguments of the Appellant, said that under the POCSO Act, doubt cannot be expressed by questioning the credibility of the victim on the basis of mere guesses and assumptions. The Division Bench has upheld the conviction of the accused, upholding the decision of the Fast Track Court. Also his appeal has been rejected.