India
Delhi court acquits man accused of rape 9 years ago due to lack of credible evidence | India News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: More than nine years after a man was charged with rape, a court has acquitted him, saying the alleged victim’s testimonies were not clear, convincing, credible or reliable, and her claims were also not corroborated by other material evidence. Additional Sessions Judge Priyanka Bhagat Tis Hazari District Court heard a case against Mahender, against whom the Subzi Mandi Police Station had filed an FIR under the penal provisions of rape and criminal intimidation.
According to the prosecution, Mahender took her to Nainital in 2014, where he poisoned her food, raped her after she fell unconscious and filmed the act.
When the woman returned to Delhi, the accused threatened to distribute the video clip and raped her again in an under-construction building and then kept her locked up, she alleged.
“…The statements of witness 12 of the Public Prosecution Service or the victim are not clear, convincing, credible and reliable and are not supported by other material evidence,” the court said in its ruling of July 9.
“For the reasons stated above, this court is of the opinion that the Public Prosecution Service has failed to prove the case against the suspect beyond reasonable doubt. Therefore, suspect Mahender is hereby acquitted,” the court said.
The court stressed that the charge was based entirely on the woman’s testimony. She also stated that there were some major contradictions in her version of the incident involving adding ingredients to her food, which affected the credibility of her statements.
There were also some improvements in her testimony, the report said.
“The entire case of the prosecution is that the complainant was repeatedly raped and the accused Mahender was going to make the video go viral. However, the video was never introduced as evidence by the prosecution,” the court said.
Regarding the allegations of rape in the under-construction building, the court took note of the statement of the alleged victim, in which she admitted that when she went to meet Mahender, other people who worked there were also present.
“Therefore, the complainant’s version that she was raped in a building where other persons were also working is not likely, especially since the complainant was also crying, as stated in her complaint,” the report said.
The court stated that there was no explanation as to why the woman had not filed a complaint with the people working there or immediately filed a complaint with the police, which refuted her version that she had been raped under the threat of spreading the obscene video.
With regard to the alleged incident of unlawful detention from November 11 to 15, 2014, the court again noted her “contradictory statements.”
It was stated that the alleged victim admitted that she had access to Mahender’s mobile phone during her detention and that she therefore had every opportunity to seek outside assistance, but chose not to do so. This undermined her testimony.
The court found that during the alleged detention, she made a phone call to the accused’s brother-in-law, Gopal Krishan, who recorded the conversation.
It was noted that the said recording was from the said mobile phone and the voice of the complainant and Krishan was duly proved by the prosecution itself through a report of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).
“This conversation also confirms that the complainant went to live with the accused Mahender on her own initiative and that when the accused was not living with her, she called the accused’s brother-in-law, namely Gopal Krishan, and then wrongly accused the brother-in-law too,” the court said.
The response of a female sub-inspector was reported, according to whom the complainant tried to convince Krishan to facilitate her meetings with Mahender, otherwise she would name him. rape case.
The court ruled that the witness’s statement had to be truthful and confirm the prosecution’s case. Furthermore, the witness’s statement had to be of such quality that there could be no doubt about it.
“The contradictions and inconsistencies in the witness statements cast serious doubt on the prosecution’s story. The version presented by the victim is not even corroborated by any other evidence presented,” the report said.
According to the prosecution, Mahender took her to Nainital in 2014, where he poisoned her food, raped her after she fell unconscious and filmed the act.
When the woman returned to Delhi, the accused threatened to distribute the video clip and raped her again in an under-construction building and then kept her locked up, she alleged.
“…The statements of witness 12 of the Public Prosecution Service or the victim are not clear, convincing, credible and reliable and are not supported by other material evidence,” the court said in its ruling of July 9.
“For the reasons stated above, this court is of the opinion that the Public Prosecution Service has failed to prove the case against the suspect beyond reasonable doubt. Therefore, suspect Mahender is hereby acquitted,” the court said.
The court stressed that the charge was based entirely on the woman’s testimony. She also stated that there were some major contradictions in her version of the incident involving adding ingredients to her food, which affected the credibility of her statements.
There were also some improvements in her testimony, the report said.
“The entire case of the prosecution is that the complainant was repeatedly raped and the accused Mahender was going to make the video go viral. However, the video was never introduced as evidence by the prosecution,” the court said.
Regarding the allegations of rape in the under-construction building, the court took note of the statement of the alleged victim, in which she admitted that when she went to meet Mahender, other people who worked there were also present.
“Therefore, the complainant’s version that she was raped in a building where other persons were also working is not likely, especially since the complainant was also crying, as stated in her complaint,” the report said.
The court stated that there was no explanation as to why the woman had not filed a complaint with the people working there or immediately filed a complaint with the police, which refuted her version that she had been raped under the threat of spreading the obscene video.
With regard to the alleged incident of unlawful detention from November 11 to 15, 2014, the court again noted her “contradictory statements.”
It was stated that the alleged victim admitted that she had access to Mahender’s mobile phone during her detention and that she therefore had every opportunity to seek outside assistance, but chose not to do so. This undermined her testimony.
The court found that during the alleged detention, she made a phone call to the accused’s brother-in-law, Gopal Krishan, who recorded the conversation.
It was noted that the said recording was from the said mobile phone and the voice of the complainant and Krishan was duly proved by the prosecution itself through a report of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).
“This conversation also confirms that the complainant went to live with the accused Mahender on her own initiative and that when the accused was not living with her, she called the accused’s brother-in-law, namely Gopal Krishan, and then wrongly accused the brother-in-law too,” the court said.
The response of a female sub-inspector was reported, according to whom the complainant tried to convince Krishan to facilitate her meetings with Mahender, otherwise she would name him. rape case.
The court ruled that the witness’s statement had to be truthful and confirm the prosecution’s case. Furthermore, the witness’s statement had to be of such quality that there could be no doubt about it.
“The contradictions and inconsistencies in the witness statements cast serious doubt on the prosecution’s story. The version presented by the victim is not even corroborated by any other evidence presented,” the report said.
