26-07-2025
Despite DNA Match With Child, Karnataka HC Refuses To Overturn Acquittal In POCSO Rape Case
The court said while the DNA test confirmed the man was the child's father, absence of supporting oral evidence, especially from the victim, rendered the case legally insufficient
The Karnataka High Court recently declined to interfere with the acquittal of a man accused of raping a minor, holding that a DNA match proving paternity does not automatically establish guilt under criminal law.
The state had approached the Dharwad Bench of the High Court seeking to overturn the August 2021 acquittal of a 24-year-old man from Belagavi district, who was tried under Section 376(2) of the IPC and Sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
However, the high court refused to do so, reasoning that while the DNA test confirmed he was the father of the child born to the victim, the absence of any supporting oral evidence, especially from the victim herself, rendered the prosecution's case legally insufficient.
The prosecution case was that in January 2015, the accused, then working as a daily wage labourer, allegedly entered into a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl in a remote area near Kyadagi forest, Uttara Kannada. The girl later became pregnant. However, it was only a year later that she lodged a police complaint after the accused began to avoid her.
A medical examination confirmed her pregnancy, and a DNA test later matched the accused as the biological father of the baby. But at trial, the victim, along with her close family members, turned hostile, denying that any sexual contact had taken place. With 22 witnesses examined and 37 documents submitted, the prosecution pinned its case almost entirely on medical and forensic evidence.
The trial court, however, found the evidence inadequate to meet the threshold of 'beyond reasonable doubt" and acquitted the accused. Challenging this, the state contended that the DNA evidence alone was conclusive of the offence.
The high court disagreed. In its judgment delivered on July 10, the bench of Justices R Nataraj and Rajesh Rai K underlined that scientific evidence such as DNA tests must be evaluated in the broader context of all available facts and testimonies.
'The victim herself firmly stated that the accused did not have any sexual intercourse with her. She is not aware who the father of her child is. Even her parents and relatives also deposed similarly. In such circumstance, the DNA report cannot be solely relied to convict the accused," the bench observed.
The court drew upon precedents from both the Supreme Court and other high courts, emphasising that DNA profiling is rooted in statistical probability and cannot be treated as infallible. It also warned against treating such reports as conclusive in the absence of procedural safeguards around collection, preservation, and contamination.
Citing the principle that appellate courts should not lightly interfere with acquittals where the trial court has taken a plausible view, the high court declined to re-evaluate the trial court's findings. The appeal was dismissed.
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