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posted by: Pragati Pal
Last updated: July 13, 2023 at 7:09 PM IST
The Supreme Court found as many as nine gaps in the charge sheet filed by the investigating officer. (photo/ANI)
The wife had filed a complaint against her husband in August 2022 making “certain serious allegations”. She had alleged that her husband was a sexual deviant and had watched child pornography
The Karnataka High Court has ordered further investigation into a case where his wife accused the husband of sexually abusing their four-year-old daughter.
The Supreme Court found as many as nine gaps in the charge sheet filed by the investigating officer.
It directed the Police Commissioner to appoint a new Investigating Officer (IO) into the case who must complete the further investigation within 10 weeks.
The wife had filed a complaint against her husband in August 2022 making “certain serious allegations”. She had alleged that her husband was a sexual deviant and had watched child pornography. He allegedly took nude photos of himself with their four-year-old daughter and inappropriately touched her.
He demanded sex with the wife in the presence of the child. The husband allegedly put child pornography in the child’s iPad and forced her to watch it.
After her complaint, the pair were booked under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO).
An indictment was filed with the Sessions Court in October 2022 by the police after the completion of the investigation. However, the wife applied for further investigation as she found that many cases were not investigated.
Her application was denied, forcing her to go to the Supreme Court.
In his latest ruling, Judge M Nagaprasana allowed the petition to proceed and ordered the police to conduct further investigations. The High Commissioner noted nine gaps in the indictment submitted by the police.
The High Commissioner said: “Having seen the indictment and the documents appended to the indictment, all of the above loopholes are prima facie correct. All nine scores considered from the considered point of view of vital court evidence were deliberately abandoned by the investigating officer. If this does not constitutes the components of a shoddy investigation, I fail to understand what could have happened.” Among the loopholes in the indictment, the Supreme Court found that while the child’s statement mentioned the name of the accused, it was not mentioned in the indictment.
Secondly, “the investigating officer willfully ignored the defendants’ incriminating articles because the truncated statement formed part of the indictment,” the High Commissioner noted.
The child’s statements before the doctor were also not included in the indictment, and the IO failed to record or conduct an investigation with the petitioner (wife) to substantiate the allegations.
The international organization also failed to confiscate laptops or mobile phones allegedly containing pornography and did not inquire about them. iPad sent for FLS report still pending” but charge sheet not being filed. This is Grade VI, said the HC.
The location of the use of laptops and mobile phones is also not mentioned in the charge sheet.
IO also failed to record statements of other witnesses such as maternal grandparents and other relatives about the accused husband’s perverted attitude.
Even the report of the psychiatrist who gave a detailed account of the torment to which the child was subjected was not part of the indictment.
The High Commissioner has ordered the trial court to await further investigation.
Until a further investigation report is submitted, the competent court may not proceed with the current indictment before it. The court said that if more investigation reports are submitted before this court, the concerned court is free to organize its procedures and proceed in accordance with the law.
(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
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