Thane court acquits tennis coach accused of raping teen student 3 years ago

A Thane court has acquitted a 40-year-old tennis coach accused of raping and impregnating his 14-year-old student, holding that the prosecution failed to establish a firm foundation for the case and that the girl’s conduct after the alleged incidents raised doubts about the reliability of her testimony.

In the order passed on Friday, July 10, Special POCSO Judge Premal S Vithalani said that the girl continued training with the coach and interacted normally with him without making a complaint. The court said this rebutted the legal presumption of guilt and made it unsafe to convict the accused solely on her statement.

The court acquitted the Navi Mumbai resident of all charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), citing major inconsistencies and lack of corroborative evidence. According to the prosecution, the Class 9 student alleged that the coach sexually assaulted her forcibly twice near a tennis court in a residential housing society in Thane in August and September 2023.

The case came to light in October 2023 when the girl complained of abdominal pain. Medical scans then showed that she was seven weeks pregnant, following which the pregnancy was medically terminated.

The court said the prosecution had failed to build a solid base for its case. “It cannot be disputed that no presumption is absolute and every presumption is rebuttable. It cannot be countenanced that presumption under Section 29 of POCSO Act is absolute. It would come into operation only when prosecution is first able to establish facts that would form the foundation for presumption under Sec 29 of POCSO Act to operate,” the order said.

The judge also noted that despite receiving sex education at her international school on how to report sexual harassment, the girl continued training with the coach. "Looking to the post-incident conduct of the victim, to my mind, her testimony is not trustworthy and credible. Hence, only on the basis of her testimony, it would be unsafe to hold the accused guilty," the judge said.

The court further noted that police did not record the statements of the girl’s friends who were allegedly training with her before the alleged instances. It also said forensic DNA profiling of the aborted foetus was inconclusive, while the housing society's CCTV footage showed nothing objectionable beyond the coach and student entering and leaving at normal hours.

Emphasising that a conviction cannot rest only on the seriousness of the allegations, the court said, "This court is conscious of the fact that there are serious allegations about committing penetrative sexual assault twice against the minor victim, however, only on the basis of seriousness of allegations, the accused cannot be convicted." The court thus cleared the coach of all charges.

- Ends