HC acquits doctor convicted for raping woman colleague

HC acquits doctor convicted for raping woman colleague 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 07.12.2024

Chennai : Madras high court has accorded the benefit of doubt and acquitted a practising doctor convicted by a trial court for raping a woman doctor while they were housed at a city hotel during Covid pandemic. The trial court had on Dec 30, 2022 imposed 10-year RI on Dr Vetriselvan and fined him ₹25,000. However, allowing his appeal on Nov 25, Justice Sunder Mohan held there were many infirmities and said: “This court is of the view that the appellant cannot be convicted on the basis of such evidence and that he will be entitled to benefit of doubt.”

The woman-doctor had alleged that on Aug 5, 2021, while she and Dr Vetriselvan were on Covid duty and lodged at a city hotel, he invited her to his room where he raped her. The defence, however, argued that the allegation of rape was an afterthought because though the incident took place on Aug 5, 2021, a complaint to the dean was given on Sept 21 and FIR filed only on Nov 17. In her complaint to the dean, the woman mentioned only sexual harassment and no rape. “She being a doctor, it cannot be said that she did not know the difference between sexual harassment and rape,” argued senior counsel A Ramesh. 

She also did not subject herself to medical examination and told the magistrate she did not wish to precipitate the matter. Citing all this, Justice Sunder Mohan said, “In the complaint, apart from not referring to any alleged act of rape, the victim would state that the incident took place at her accommodation at the hotel, which is contrary to the prosecution case that the incident took place in the appellant’s room.” While a complaint was given to the dean 43 days after the incident, a police complaint was lodged two months after the complaint in which an improved version was made, said the judge.

The judge then set aside the trial court order and directed the authorities to return the fine amount to the appellant.