In Murugan v. State, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court upheld the conviction of a man for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl under the POCSO Act, despite the victim and her parents turning hostile during trial. The Court held that a DNA report conclusively establishing the accused as the biological father of the child born to the minor constituted a “foundational fact” sufficient to sustain the conviction. The Court observed that scientific evidence can outweigh hostile oral testimony, particularly in cases involving pregnancy resulting from sexual assault. It also relied on the victim’s Section 164 CrPC statement, which she admitted had been given voluntarily. Rejecting challenges regarding the DNA procedure and chain of custody, the Court found no evidence of tampering and noted that the defence had cross-examined the forensic expert. However, since there was no reliable evidence to prove repeated assaults, the Court modified the conviction from Section 5(l) to Section 5(j)(ii) of the POCSO Act, which covers aggravated penetrative sexual assault resulting in pregnancy. The life sentence was reduced to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment, while the conviction under Section 506 IPC was set aside.