Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court suspended the 20-year sentence of a rape convict, Madhav Vaghela, and granted him bail in a Pocso case. This decision came after it was contended that the DNA sample of the rape survivor did not match his, and questions were raised about the girl’s age.
In Feb, a court in Dhoraji town of Rajkot district found 22-year-old Vaghela guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl, despite his DNA not matching with that of her fetus.
The conviction was based on other evidence and the survivor’s statement. The complaint under the Pocso Act was filed against Vaghela in July 2024 after the victim’s pregnancy was revealed.
Vaghela challenged his conviction before the HC and requested the suspension of his sentence. His counsel, Rathin Raval, contended that the DNA samples did not prove the accused’s paternity and questioned the trial court’s conclusion that the victim was a minor in the absence of a birth certificate.
After the hearing, a bench of Justice Ilesh Vora and Justice Sandeep Bhatt suspended the sentence. The bench stated, “The prosecution, in order to prove the age, mainly relied on the date of birth mentioned in the school records… In this case, the source of the date of birth has not been brought on record. In such circumstances, without entering into the merits of the case, we are of the prima facie opinion that the court below has not properly evaluated the probative value of the entry of date of birth mentioned in the school records. Thus, we are persuaded to exercise our discretion in favour of the applicant convict for the purpose of substantive order of sentence.”