By Varna Srinivasan

16-year-old boy who was a survivor of an offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code has history of facing sexual abuse and admitted to have been a smoker. The accused petitioned to discredit the testimony of the minor on these very grounds and categorised the boy to be of deviant character. The accused also added that the evidence to support the claims of the survivor were insufficient and unsatisfactory.  

The court declared that these accusations hold no truth as there is no reason to believe that the survivor is lying in his testimony as he stated clearly and identified the perpetrators in the statement. It was also further stated by the court that the medical examination on the survivor indicated abuse under the section and therefore greatly added to the case as primary evidence. Therefore, the appeal by the accused is denied by the court.  

[Case Name: Abdul Salam v. State of Kerala (2025)]