HC acquits man for want of proof in teen rape case

HC acquits man for want of proof in teen rape case

Cannot Convict Accused Under Pocso Act Based On Mere Allegations: Nagpur Bench

Vaibhav.Ganjapure@timesgroup.com

Nagpur:  04.02.2021

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court has acquitted a 27-year-old man convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl multiple times over two months, citing the prosecution’s failure to produce conclusive evidence of sexual assault and its link to the survivor’s subsequent pregnancy.

“Except the survivor’s statement with regard to sexual intercourse at the house of the accused’s sister, there’s absolutely nothing supporting the prosecution’s contention of rape. Only on the basis of allegations about sexual intercourse on many occasions, it would be highly irrational to convict the accused of rape and sentence him to 10 years’ imprisonment,” Justice Pushpa Ganediwala ruled.

According to the judge, a survivor’s testimony alone was sufficient for conviction, provided it “inspires confidence” in the court.

“Given the facts and circumstances, this court is of the opinion that the prosecution couldn’t establish beyond reasonable doubt the offence of rape against the accused,” Justice Ganediwala said.

The Hinganghat sessions court in Maharashtra’s Wardha district had convicted and sentenced petitioner Jageshwar Kawle under Section 376(2)(n) of the IPC (repeated rape) and sections 5 and 6 of the Pocso Act (aggravated penetrative sexual assault on a minor). It pronounced the sentence on November 12, 2019.

The Pocso Act defines statutory rape as any sexual act with an unmarried girl under 18, regardless of whether it was consensual.

Full report on www.toi.in

Schoolgirl gang-raped by nine in C’garh

Raipur:

A 16-year-old girl was gang-raped by nine youths in a jungle while returning from her school in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district on Tuesday. She had gone to school with a male friend to submit an assignment, police said. On the way back, they had stopped to eat their tiffin when nine youths from neighbouring villages accosted them.

According to the survivor’s complaint, the group began questioning them, rebuked them for being out together and demanded to know their addresses and other personal details.

The gang thrashed the boy, accused him of luring a girl out with ‘wrong intentions’ and drove him away. No one was around to hear the girl’s screams for help. The group dragged her into a forest where they took turns to rape her and abandoned her there, the survivor said. She somehow managed to return home late in the evening and told her parents, who immediately took her to police. An FIR was registered under Pocso Act and police nabbed two of the accused. The others are on the run. Some of the accused are minors, said police. TNN