Baramulla, Jun 17: A court in Baramulla has acquitted a Budgam resident of charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in connection with a 2021 case, holding that the prosecution failed to establish allegations of kidnapping, rape and commission of an offence against a minor.
Principal Sessions Judge Baramulla, Jawad Ahmad, delivered the judgment on February 14, 2026, acquitting accused Showkat Mushtaq Wani of Dharmbugh Kralpora, Budgam, in FIR No. 146/2021 registered at Police Station Dangiwacha under Sections 363 and 376 IPC and Section 4 of the POCSO Act.
Principal Sessions Judge Jawad Ahmad, while delivering the judgment on February 14, 2026, noted that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, with key witnesses turning hostile and the victim’s age remaining unsubstantiated.
The complainant, father of the victim, had alleged that his daughter, then aged about 20 years, had gone missing on August 6, 2021, and was later recovered from the possession of accused Showkat Mushtaq Wani.
However, during cross-examination, the father categorically stated that the accused had not kidnapped his daughter. “It is not correct that accused had abducted the victim, but the victim had herself gone with the accused,” he told the court. He further confirmed that the marriage between the victim and the accused had taken place and they were living a happy marital life for the last two years, with a child born out of the wedlock.
The victim, examined as PW-4, also deposed that she had left her house voluntarily and gone to the accused’s residence. She told the court that her father was avoiding her marriage with the accused, which prompted her to leave. She maintained that no illicit act took place between them during that period.
The court observed that the prosecution’s case rested primarily on the medical evidence of the doctor, who stated that the victim’s hymen was not intact and that intercourse had been done. However, the judge noted that medical evidence is only corroborative in nature and cannot substitute primary evidence.
“Had the victim stated that the accused committed sexual intercourse on her, in that event the medical evidence would have been relevant to corroborate her statement. Otherwise, absence of primary evidence of sexual intercourse makes the medical evidence of no significance,” the court observed.
The judgment further pointed out that the prosecution failed to establish the victim’s age, a crucial ingredient for attracting the provisions of the POCSO Act. Although the investigating agency had obtained a date of birth certificate from the school where the victim studied, the principal was neither cited as a witness nor examined in court.
The court noted that the victim herself stated her age as 21 years during her deposition on April 13, 2023, making her over 19 years at the time of the alleged incident in August 2021. Additionally, the complaint filed by the father had mentioned the victim’s age as 20 years.
“The prosecution has desperately failed to establish the charges/allegations against the accused. As such, this charge sheet fails to prove the case and is accordingly dismissed as not proved,” the judge ruled.
The court also observed that the investigating officer was not examined, rendering the memos prepared during investigation unproved and depriving the accused of his right to cross-examine about the circumstances of the case.
Wani, who was arrested on August 9, 2021, and subsequently released on bail, stood acquitted of all charges and discharged from the liability of bail and personal bond.
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