Delhi High Court grants bail, flags police inaction over hostile POCSO witness

The Delhi High Court granted bail to a POCSO accused after the survivor denied all allegations. It criticised police inaction over her allegedly false testimony and questioned hostile-witness handling.Stock photo used for illustrationNewdelhi,Oct 26, 2026 17:24 ISTThe Delhi High Court has criticised the police for showing “total disinterest” in taking action against a survivor in a POCSO case for allegedly lying before the trial court, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Granting bail to the accused, Justice Girish Kathpalia said investigating and prosecuting agencies often blame hostile witnesses for acquittals but do not take action against them.According to the FIR, the 37-year-old accused allegedly raped his 16-year-old neighbour repeatedly. He sought bail after the minor turned hostile to the prosecution's case and told the trial court that nothing had happened to her.In its October 16 order, the High Court noted that this was not a case in which the survivor had claimed to be in a consensual relationship. Instead, she had “flatly denied the alleged incident in its entirety” during her testimony before the trial court. “Not only this, the prosecutrix even deposed before the trial court that she had never appeared before any judge for recording her statement, which is a blatant lie,” the court said.“It is not just the testimony of the prosecutrix being a blatant lie and hostile to prosecution, but also the total disinterest exhibited by prosecution to take appropriate action, which at this stage would convey to this court that the entire prosecution case was prima facie false and the accused/applicant suffered illegal confinement in custody,” the court said, according to PTI. The court added that despite the apparent perjury, the investigating officer did not take any action against the survivor. It noted that the prosecution had earlier said the state was considering legal action against her under Section 217 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with giving false information to a public servant, but no action was ultimately taken.The High Court said the purpose of a criminal trial was to “arrive at the truth” on the basis of evidence. It observed that while the criminal justice system was often criticised for low conviction rates, particularly in POCSO Act cases, action was not taken against hostile witnesses.“The investigating and the prosecuting arms of the criminal justice system always blame the witnesses for having turned hostile during trials, leading to the acquittals. But in none of those cases is any action ever taken by them,” it said.The court clarified that its observations should not influence the trial court against the prosecution while it reaches a final decision. The High Court granted bail after noting the survivor's complete denial of the allegations and the prosecution's failure to act over her allegedly false testimony.- Ends