The Kerala High Court has held that a mere statement by a person, who is also liable to be arrayed as an accused in a case, is insufficient to fasten criminal culpability on an accused.
Justice A. Badharudeen made the observations on Tuesday while quashing the criminal proceedings against a headteacher of a school, who was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, for not informing the police about the commission of the offence.
She was booked under Sections 19 and 21 of the Act for allegedly failing to inform the police about the sexual offence committed on a minor by his stepfather.
The headteacher argued that though the victim informed the psycho-socio counsellor about the sexual assault, she was not informed about the incident. Hence, she had no opportunity to inform the police about the assault.
The police had not collected the statement from her. She further argued that the police, which refused to array the psycho-socio counsellor as an accused, made her an accused to protect the counsellor. She also contended that the police made her an accused solely based on the statement of the counsellor.
The court, which found that the police had not collected any other records or materials to support the statement of the counsellor, quashed the proceedings against the headteacher. The prosecution records were quite insufficient to fasten criminal culpability upon the headteacher on the allegation that she knew of the occurrence of the sexual offence against a minor, the court held.
Published – March 18, 2025 09:15 pm IST