In a criminal appeal before the Madras High Court, I happened to work on a couple of interesting and challenging points of law while dealing with omnibus charges framed during a trial and the mens rea of the accused/customer under section 30 of the POCSO Act. The case involved two minor victim girls, aged 13 and 14 years, who were lured and coerced into commercial sex trade due to extreme poverty.
One of the central challenges revolved around the omnibus nature of the charges. The trial had framed broad charges against a large group of accused with a lack of specificity. When tested against the victims’ statements, it contained substantial inconsistencies on the critical aspects of the allegations. The Madras High Court upheld the convictions of three women and one man and acquitted the remaining eleven accused due to material contradictions in the statement of the victims. I represented Accused No. 15 and Accused No. 18, the latter as a legal aid counsel. Both individuals were ultimately acquitted.
Assisted by Senthur Kugan
Research by Andrea P.
