Imran Shamim Khan v. State of Maharashtra
Bombay High CourtMANU/MH/0231/2019Bench: J. S.S. Shinde, J. Swapna Joshi
The Bombay High Court held that even where a minor victim has turned hostile, if parts of her testimony still establish the foundational facts of the offence (e.g., that an act was committed against her by an adult), the Section 29 presumption is triggered and the onus shifts to the accused to rebut it. The Court also noted that children often turn hostile due to family pressure, threats, or compromise. The fact of the child having previously made a consistent Section 164 statement corroborates the prosecution case. The accused must then affirmatively rebut the presumption.