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The Karnataka High Court has upheld the decision of a lower court acquitting former French diplomat Pascal Mazurier, who was charged with sexually assaulting his then three-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
In April 2017, a Sessions Court had acquitted Mazurier on the grounds that there was not enough evidence to convict him.
A bench of Justices Sreenivas Harish Kumar and KS Hemalekha on June 5 dismissed the appeal, stating, “In view of the totality of medical, psychological and testimonial evidence, we find that the prosecution has failed to appreciate the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. The medical findings do not support the charge, and the testimonies are riddled with inconsistencies and procedural lapses. For the foregoing reasons, we hold that the trial court was justified in acquitting the accused, and we find no reasons to interfere with the order of the trial court.”
The case against Mazurier arose from a police complaint filed in June 2012 by his now estranged wife and the child’s mother, Suja Jones. In her complaint, Suja had accused Mazurier of sexually assaulting their young daughter on multiple occasions, and she had submitted a medical report provided by the Collaborative Child Response Unit (CCRU) of the Baptist Hospital to support her claim.
Mazurier was the deputy head of chancery at the French Consulate in Bengaluru at the time the complaint was filed, and the couple had three children.
The High Court judgement, authored by Justice Hemalekha, raised doubts about the credibility of the complaint and Suja Jones for consulting professionals like counsellors, lawyers and doctors before filing the complaint with the police.
“This coordination shows a pre-litigation consultative process by PW.4 (Suja Jones) involving legal and medical professionals via NGOs. While such steps may be consistent with concern for child welfare, the sequence involving repeated consultation, delayed police reporting, and referrals largely controlled by NGO-linked personnel suggests a well-orchestrated build-up rather than immediate, reactive reporting, thus raising doubt about spontaneity and credibility.”
The court also disregarded the testimony of the child, who had said that she was hurt by her father. Saying that it raised “serious doubt about reliability and credibility,” the court said the child’s statements appeared inconsistent because she recalled events not related to the complaint and failed to recall part of her early childhood, including her school, friends or travels.
The court also felt that the mother promising the child she would get chocolates or a picnic if the child answered questions in court supported the arguments of the accused (Mazurier) that the testimony was coached.
In 2017, TNM had reported on the judgement given by the Sessions Court judge BS Rekha and how it constantly hovered around the mother, Suja Jones, and questioned her motives in seeking help before approaching the police to lodge a complaint.
Further, the Sessions Court judgement also criticised her role as a mother, her lifestyle and determined that she had filed the complaint to deliberately implicate Mazurier in the crime.
“..The behaviour of the accused (Mazurier) is appreciated by the house maid and also the driver because they told that the accused is of good behaviour and he was not going to parties, whereas this complainant used to go to night party and she herself admitted that she was attending the parties and she was arranging the parties in the absence of the accused. All these behaviour of the complainant made the accused to take divorce. ..In this case the conduct of the complainant itself shows that her intention was not to take care of the child or the husband, but to connect the accused with the crime and she went to that extent of using the child as a weapon (sic).”
The domestic help and the driver in question never offered their testimonies before the court, and Mazurier’s ‘good behaviour’ was based on their statements to the police.
