The Supreme Court has held that a baptismal certificate, by itself, cannot establish the age of a child under Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
A Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice N V Anjaria said courts must follow the statutory sequence under Section 94 while determining the age of a victim in a POCSO case. A school or matriculation certificate is to be considered first, followed by a birth certificate issued by a corporation, municipality or panchayat. Only in their absence can medical age-determination tests be relied upon.
The ruling came in an appeal filed by Pynchemalangaki Bareh, who was convicted for raping a minor and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment under the POCSO Act.
The prosecution had relied on a baptismal certificate recording the victim’s date of birth as March 5, 2006. However, the issuing Church Minister was not examined, there was no evidence explaining the basis of the recorded date of birth, and no ossification test was conducted.
The Supreme Court held that since the prescribed documents or a medical age-determination test had not been produced, the victim’s minority was not legally established. Consequently, the POCSO conviction could not be sustained.
However, the Court clarified that failure to prove minority does not erase proof of rape. It found the victim’s testimony, medical evidence and forensic material sufficient to establish the offence and substituted the POCSO conviction with one under Section 376 IPC.
The Bench held that if rape is established but the victim’s minority is not, a conviction under Section 376 of the IPC can still stand or be imposed instead of a POCSO conviction.
The Court also rejected Bareh’s contention that the absence of a separate Section 376 charge vitiated the conviction, holding that an error in framing charges does not invalidate a trial unless it causes failure of justice or prejudice to the accused.
The Bench upheld his conviction under Section 506 IPC as well and ultimately reduced his sentence from 20 years to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment, with a fine of Rs 10,000.
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