KOCHI: An accused in a case alleging sexual offence becomes the victim if the allegations are false, says the Kerala high court.

While quashing a POCSO ( Protection of Children from Sexual Offences )case against a 27-year-old man from Kottayam, justice Alexander Thomas said in the judgment, “Before parting of this case, this court would like to observe that in a case of sexual offence where an accused is falsely implicated, the real victim in such false cases is not the ‘alleged victim’ of sexual violence, but the accused, who has been falsely implicated in the crime of sexual violence, which has been instituted falsely. This aspect of the matter has to be borne in mind by the investigating officers, prosecutors as well as by the courts.”

The case that was considered by the court involved a 27-year-old man from Kottayam who was the owner of a van transporting children to school. When only a 13-year-old girl and two other boys were remaining to be dropped off from school, the man was alleged to have hit the girl’s hand with his shoulder with sexual intent.

In the judgment, the court said it is not possible for anyone to infer or impute that the said act has been done by the petitioner with any sexual intent. The court held that the said act of the man cannot be termed as a sexual act as understood in the POCSO Act.

However, the girl had given an embellished version of the incident when her statement was recorded by the magistrate later on and had revealed that she did so as tutored by Pambadi police. But the two boys in the van had given statements that they did not see any misbehaviour by the accused. Citing the statements of the two boys, the court said it is clear that the allegations are factually wrong and incorrect. The court quashed the case as continuance of the criminal proceedings would be nothing but sheer abuse to the process of the court.

