The Allahabad HC, upholding the life imprisonment of an accused convicted under the POCSO Act, observed that the testimony of a child victim is placed on a higher pedestal than that of an ordinary injured witness. File

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The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday (June 3, 2026) upheld the life imprisonment of an accused convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, reaffirming that the sole testimony of a child victim is sufficient to sustain a conviction if it inspires confidence.The Court dismissed an appeal and affirmed the sentence of rigorous life imprisonment imposed on the accused for abducting and raping a seven-year-old child.The Court observed that the having placed the prosecutrix’s evidence on such a high pedestal, it is the duty of the court to scrutinise it carefully.Noting that the victim’s statements remained completely unwavering and were fully corroborated by medical and forensic evidence, the Court held that she qualified as a “sterling witness”, making her solitary testimony sufficient to sustain the conviction.A Division Bench of Justice Jai Krishna Upadhyay and Justice Siddhartha Varma observed, “Thus, the law that emerges on the issue is that the statement of the prosecutrix, if found to be worthy of credence and reliable, requires no corroboration. The court can record conviction of the accused on the sole testimony of the prosecutrix.”The Bench relied on several Supreme Court precedents, including Ganesan v. State represented by its Inspector of Police (2020), in which the Supreme Court held that the solitary testimony of a prosecutrix is sufficient to convict an accused of rape, provided it inspires confidence, is absolutely trustworthy, unblemished, and of sterling quality.The ruling is also consistent with the Supreme Court’s 2025 decision in Bhanei Prasad @ Raju v. State of Himachal Pradesh, where the Court held that a child victim’s testimony requires no corroboration and noted that Section 29 of the POCSO Act creates a statutory presumption of guilt once foundational facts are established. Published - June 08, 2026 04:22 pm IST