High Court dismissed appeal of Appellant in Acid Attack Case Under IPC and However set aside conviction under POCSO Act Due to Inconsistent Evidence and Hostile Witnesses. Conviction for Acid Attack confirmed

Sub Category: Bombay High Court Bench: BOMBAY

RB Sharma

2026-03-02 23:39:31

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Case Note & Summary

The High Court dismissed the criminal appeal filed by Appellant against his conviction for acid attack and sexual harassment offences. The appellant was convicted by Trial Court for throwing acid on victim's face and harassing her, sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. The High Court found prosecution evidence insufficient for conviction under POCSO However conviction u/s 326-A of IPC maintained

Headnote

Criminal Law-- Indian Penal Code, 1860-- Sections 326-A, 354-D and 506-- Protection of children from Sexual offence Act, 2012(POCSO)-- Sections 10 and 12 -- Code of criminal Procedure, 1973-- Sections 164 and 313 -- Friendship was between victim and appellant/accused prior to marriage of victim girl-- Victim girl was married to another man-- Appellant/accused threatened to victim and thrown some liquid subsantce/acid on the face of her- Victim sustained burn injuries to the left side of her face-- Complaint-- Trial-- Appellant/accused convicted u/s 326-A, 354-A and 506 of IPC and U/s 10 and 12 of POCSO-- Conviction challenged before high court by appellant-- Statement of victim girl was recorded u/s 164 of CRPC-- Father of victim girl/PW-4 and two independent witnesses turned hostile-- VIctim was also turned hostile-- Entire testimony of hostile witness cannot be discarded-- Victim was suggested with regard to accused not having thrwon any substance, denied by the victim-- Presence of appellant established at the spot of incident-- Clothes were smeared with substance-- No explanation offered by the appellant u/s 313 of CRPC with regard to his presence-- CA report suggested that the it was the appellant who has thrown the acid on the face of victim-- No allegation of sexual assault committed by the appellant on victim-- Offence u/s 326-A of IPC proved by prosecution side-- Minimum sentence prescribed for sentence is 10 years for the offence punishable u/s 326-A of IPC-- No question of reduction of sentence-- Conviction under POCSO set aside However conviction and sentence u/s 326- A of IPC maintained-- Appeal Dismissed

Para-- 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17

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Issue of Consideration: Whether the prosecution proved the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt for offences under Section 326-A, 354-D, 506 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and Sections 10, 12 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act, 2012 (POCSO Act)

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Final Decision

The High Court allowed the criminal appeal, set aside the conviction and sentence imposed by Trial Court, and acquitted the appellant of all charges under Section 326-A, 354-D, 506 IPC and Sections 10, 12 POCSO Act

2026 LawText (BOM) (02) 130

Criminal Appeal No. 797 of 2022

2026-02-25

R. M. Joshi J.

2026:BHC-AS:9713

Ms. Anjali Patil a/w Tohid Shaikh for Appellant, Mr. A.S. Gawai, APP for Respondent No.1, Mr. Rahul Gupta a/w Saumya Goyal for Respondent No.2

Abuzar Ayyaz Tamboli

The State of Maharashtra, XYZ

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Nature of Litigation: Criminal Appeal against conviction for acid attack and sexual harassment offences

Remedy Sought

Appellant seeking acquittal and setting aside of conviction and sentence

Filing Reason

Appellant convicted by Trial Court for offences under IPC and POCSO Act and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment

Previous Decisions

Trial Court convicted appellant under Section 326-A, 354-D, 506 IPC and Sections 10, 12 POCSO Act vide Judgment and Order dated 30.06.2022 in Special Case No. 80 of 2021

Issues

Whether prosecution proved guilt of accused beyond reasonable doubt for acid attack and sexual harassment offences Whether inconsistent testimony of victim and hostile witnesses create reasonable doubt requiring acquittal

Submissions/Arguments

Appellant's counsel argued prosecution witnesses including victim turned hostile creating no evidence for conviction Appellant's counsel submitted victim gave two different versions about who threw substance creating reasonable doubt Appellant's counsel argued prosecution failed to investigate procurement of acid weakening forensic evidence Respondents supported Trial Court judgment citing victim's cross-examination and forensic evidence showing nitrate ions on accused's clothes

Ratio Decidendi

When prosecution evidence is inconsistent and witnesses turn hostile, creating two possible versions of events, the version favoring accused must be accepted as prosecution fails to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt -- Medical and forensic evidence without corroborating eyewitness testimony is insufficient for conviction in criminal cases

Judgment Excerpts

The Trial Court found the evidence of prosecution sufficient to bring home guilt of the accused and hence recorded conviction against him by impugned judgment and order Learned counsel for the Appellant submits that here in this case the prosecution witnesses including victim have turned hostile and therefore, there is absolutely no evidence in order to convict the Appellant for the alleged crime It is submitted that in view of the settled position of law that if the evidence indicates two possibilities, the one in favour of the accused needs to be accepted

Procedural History

Crime registered on 23.11.2020 vide No.2639 of 2020 with Dattavadi Police Station -- Investigation conducted including Section 164 CrPC statement and medical examination -- Chargesheet filed -- Trial conducted with 13 witnesses examined -- Conviction recorded on 30.06.2022 -- Criminal Appeal filed in High Court on 2022 -- Reserved on 18.02.2026 -- Pronounced on 25.02.2026