A court in Thane district of Maharashtra reportedly acquitted a 53-year-old man accused of raping a minor girl.
The court, while passing the order, stated that the prosecution`s evidence was not “cogent and clinching” and questioned the victim`s claim of recording the act on her phone.
According to the PTI, Special Judge Premal S Vithalani (for POCSO Act cases), in the order dated April 9, also highlighted contradictions in the victim`s testimony.
During the trial, the prosecution alleged that between December 2022 and January 2023, the man, a tailor by profession and neighbour of the 17-year-old victim in Thane city, raped the victim on multiple occasions after obtaining her house keys from her mother, as per PTI.
Victim herself recorded the obscene video
However, on January 14, 2023, the victim claimed that she had secretly filmed one such incident on January 14, 2023.
The victim`s mother worked as a cook in the locality. As the girl`s father had earlier allegedly raped her, the mother would lock the house from outside and leave the keys with the accused till she returned.
The prosecution, while keeping their points during the trial, said that the accused, however, took advantage of the situation, went to the victim`s house and raped her on multiple occasions after threatening her.
Following the complaint by the victim, the accused was arrested and jailed in January 2023. He was booked under Sections 376(2)(n) (repeated rape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The court, however, said, “It is highly improbable that the culprit committing rape would allow the victim to video shoot the act on a mobile phone.”
The order further noted, “While a forensic report mentioned two videos featuring a male person, the prosecution failed to prove those videos in court,” as cited by PTI.
The judge also highlighted contradictions between the victim`s court testimony and her earlier statement to a magistrate. While she told the court that the first incident happened at the man`s house during a tailoring visit, her prior statement claimed he entered her house to commit the crime.
He noted, “Definitely, major inconsistencies in two versions would affect the case of the prosecution.”
The court also pointed out a one-month delay in lodging the FIR and the victim`s admission in cross-examination that she had previously filed a false rape case against her father.
Acquitting the accused, the court further ordered, “In this situation, it is highly difficult to place reliance on the testimony of the victim,” as per PTI.
Furthermore, the prosecution failed to establish “foundational facts” to shift the burden of proof onto the accused, the court said, and ordered the man`s immediate release.
(With inputs from PTI)
