Panchkula, Oct. 30 -- Three years after a 15-year-old girl delivered a baby in her school washroom, the 23-year-old accused walked free on Wednesday. Pointing to a string of police lapses and investigative shortcomings, and a DNA report that ruled out the possibility of him being the biological father of the child, a special fast-track POCSO court in Panchkula acquitted the man, giving him the benefit of doubt.

The court of the additional sessions judge held that the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. "The prosecution evidence suffers from material contradictions and lacks the requisite cogency and credibility to sustain conviction," the court said, while extending the benefit of doubt to th...