Stating that allegation of sexual assault is of a serious nature, the Gujarat High Court has ordered a lie-detector test on the family members of a victim who had filed a police complaint against the head teacher of the school where the girl studied.
In an oral order, Justice JB Pardiwala stated, “To level allegations of sexual assault against any person is something very serious. Ultimately, if such allegations are found to be false, then there is no way, in which, the person against whom such false allegations are leveled can be compensated.”
The grandmother of the seven-year-old victim had in 2017 filed a police complaint accusing the head teacher of Shahpur Municipal School where she was studying of sexually assaulting her. An offence was registered against Sunil Damor under Section 376, 376 (B) of the IPC and various sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The lawyer representing Damor claimed that the allegations against his client were false and that the child was tutored by her parents and family. He said this was due to dispute with regards to leaving certificate and admission of the victim in the school.
The Gujarat High Court later asked the accused to undergo lie detection, brain mapping and narco analysis tests, to which the accused acceded to as per the law.
“The reports of the three tests prima facie create a grave doubt as regards the involvement of the applicant-accused in the alleged crime. In fact, the report of the Narco Analysis as well as the report of the Brain Mapping test gives a clean chit to the accused. The two reports state in clear terms that the accused is innocent,” the court said. The allegations were also not substantiated by the statements of other girls in the class.
The court stated that “the first informant, her son and the mother of the victim, they all should be subjected to the three tests viz lie detector, narco analysis and brain mapping. Subjecting these three witnesses to the three scientific tests will make the picture more clear...If any of the three offer any resistance in this regard then the same by itself will be an indication of their guilty conscience.”