Wife’s courtroom answer lands husband in jail in Pocso case

Chennai: A single answer from a wife during cross-examination collapsed the defence built by her husband in a child sexual assault case, resulting in 20-year jail term for the 44-year-old man.The complainant lived with her two minor daughters in North Chennai. Since she remained away for work during the day, her children often played with others in the neighbourhood and regularly visited the accused J Murugan’s house to play with his children.On April 7, 2021, one of the girls told her mother that Murugan had sexually assaulted her and warned her against telling anyone. The mother approached the police later that night, following which Murugan was arrested.During the trial at a city special court for Posco cases, Murugan denied abusing the girl and produced three defence witnesses—his wife and two friends—to support his version before the court.During cross-examination, special public prosecutor S Anitha began with questions about the work routine of the suspect’s wife. She told the court she used to leave for work in the morning and return only in the evening, leaving her husband alone at home during afternoons.

The questioning then moved to what he usually did during that time. The wife said he took care of household activities and at times played with children in the neighbourhood. When asked whether she had seen the girl in their backyard, she replied yes.Realizing the damage she’d done, she then vouched for her husband’s character, saying that he was affectionate towards children and was incapable of such an act. But the prosecution used her testimony to establish that the accused frequently spent time with the girl.The court later accepted the survivor’s version and sentenced the man to 20 years rigorous imprisonment. Judge S Padma on May 11 ordered the govt to pay ₹4 lakh as compensation to the child.