The Kerala High Court has held that documentary proof of age is not mandatory in cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, when the oral testimony of the child victim and her mother regarding the minor’s age remain unchallenged during trial. 

The High Court was hearing an appeal filed by a person from Kanjirappally, challenging his conviction under the Act and under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the award of three year rigorous imprisonment. The case was that the appellant who was working as a security guard at an apartment complex sexually assaulted the child in the security cabin.  

The court said that both the child and her mother had consistently said that she was eight-years-old when the assault occurred, adding that the accused person had not challenged this during cross examination. The court thus dismissed the appeal and upheld the conviction and the sentence.