Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fast Track Sessions Court-1, Udupi, Yermal Kalpana has sentenced a 36-year-old man to 20 years in jail on finding him guilty of sexually assaulting a minor girl.
The judge convicted Rama Poojary for the offence punishable under Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Apart from 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, Poojary was fined ₹25,000.
The period of detention undergone by Poojary in judicial custody shall be set-off against the term of imprisonment and he shall undergo the remaining period of sentence, the judge said.
Poojary was accused of sexually assaulting the minor girl and impregnating her in 2019, in the Kollur Police limits. The victim’s mother lodged a compliant after rejecting the offer from Poojary to take care of the girl. The DNA test done on Poojary turned negative.
Overruling the findings of the DNA report, the judge in her order on April 8 said that the report was only a corroborative evidence and not a conclusive proof. Holding that prosecution has succeeded in proving the charge against Poojary, the judge convicted Poojary under Section 6 of the POCSO Act. The judge, however, acquitted him of the offence punishable under Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code.
