DNA mismatch won't absolve crime accused: Karnataka HC
Bengaluru, Oct 9: The Karnataka High Court has said that non-matching DNA samples would not absolve a crime accused since it is only corroborative evidence.
The court rejected the petition of a 43-year-old bus conductor who is accused of raping and impregnating a 12-year-old relative.
He rushed to the High Court, seeking quashing of the case after a DNA test showed that his blood sample and that of the foetus did not match.
The accused is a resident of Mysuru. He has been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The complaint was filed by the mother of the victim on February 19, 2021. The bus conductor is alleged to have sexually abused the girl due to which she became pregnant.
The police filed a charge-sheet in the case while the report of the DNA test was still pending. When the report came, it showed that the blood sample of the accused and the foetus did not match.
He approached the court, contending that he was not responsible for the victim becoming pregnant.
The government advocate contended that the girl had given a statement that the accused had sexually assaulted her and, therefore, notwithstanding the negative DNA report, the trial had to continue.
The judgement was pronounced by Justice M Nagaprasanna on September 15 who held that despite the DNA analysis showing that the accused was not the biological father of the foetus, "that would not absolve the petitioner in entirety for the offences so alleged."
The court said, "The alleged act has not at all happened cannot be the inference that can be drawn due to a DNA sample coming in favour of the petitioner. Mere production of DNA sample report before this court would not mean that it has to be taken as gospel truth without examination or cross-examination of the doctor who has rendered such opinion."
After quoting the statement of the victim-girl given to the court, the High Court said, "They are all unpardonable acts on the part of the petitioner unless proved otherwise. The DNA test cannot discredit what the victim has narrated in her statement that the petitioner had forcibly committed sexual acts on her."
Terming the DNA test as a corroborative evidence, the court dismissed the petition of the accused. "The DNA test cannot be said to be a conclusive evidence with regard to the allegations made against the petitioner. The DNA test can at best be used as a corroborative evidence," the Bench noted.
Quoting the Supreme Court in the Sunil Vs State of Madhya Pradesh case, the High Court said, "If a positive result of the DNA comes about against the accused, it would constitute clinching evidence against him for further proceeding. If the result is negative, favouring the accused, then the weight of other materials and evidence on record will still have to be considered for corroboration."
"Therefore, it does not form such a clinching evidence that would result in termination of proceedings against the accused," the Bench said.
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UP SIR: Over 84 lakh voters added in final list, total electorate rises to 13.39 crore
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh's electorate grew by over 84 lakh to 13.39 crore after the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to the final voter list published on Friday.
Addressing a press conference at the Lok Bhawan Media Centre here, Uttar Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said the SIR exercise was conducted from October 27, 2025, to April 10, 2026, covering all 75 districts, 403 assembly constituencies and polling stations across the state.
He said the 166-day exercise was carried out with the contribution of 75 District Election Officers (DEOs), 403 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 12,758 Assistant EROs, 18,026 BLO supervisors and 1,77,516 Booth Level Officers (BLOs). In addition, 5,82,877 booth-level agents of recognised political parties and crores of voters extended cooperation.
Print, electronic and digital media also played a key role in awareness efforts, he added.
Rinwa said the draft electoral roll published on January 6, 2026, had a total of 12,55,56,025 voters, including 6.88 crore male voters, 5.67 crore female voters and 4,119 third gender voters.
The number of voters in the 18-19 age group stood at 3,33,981, while the gender ratio was 824 female voters per 1,000 male voters.
The final electoral roll published on April 10 shows the total number of voters at 13,39,84,792, he said.
Of these, male voters number 7,30,71,071 (around 54 per cent), female voters 6,09,09,525 (45.46 per cent) and third gender voters 4,206 (less than 0.01 per cent).
The number of voters in the 18-19 age group has risen to 17,63,360, accounting for 1.32 per cent of the total electorate. The gender ratio has also improved to 834 female voters per 1,000 male voters.
Comparing the draft and final rolls, Rinwa said the total increase in the number of voters is 84,28,767. This includes an increase of 42,27,902 male voters, 42,00,778 female voters and 87 third gender voters.
The 18-19 age group registered a rise of 14,29,379 voters, while the gender ratio improved by 10 points from 824 to 834, he said.
Among districts, Prayagraj recorded the highest increase in voters at 3,29,421, followed by Lucknow at 2,85,961, Bareilly at over 2,57,000, Ghaziabad at 2,43,666 and Jaunpur at 2,37,590.
The CEO said the successful completion of the revision exercise reflects coordinated efforts by election officials, political parties and voters across the state.
