A Thane court acquitted a 53-year-old man of rape charges, citing inconsistencies in the victim's testimony and raising serious questions about the prosecution's evidence in the sensitive POCSO Act case.
Key Points
- A Thane court acquitted a man accused of rape due to the prosecution's failure to provide cogent and clinching evidence.
- The court highlighted inconsistencies in the victim's testimony, including discrepancies between her court statement and prior statements.
- The judge questioned the victim's claim of recording the alleged rape on her phone, deeming it improbable.
- A delay in filing the FIR and the victim's prior false rape accusation against her father further weakened the prosecution's case.
- The court found that the prosecution failed to establish foundational facts necessary to shift the burden of proof onto the accused.
A Thane court has acquitted a 53-year-old man of charges of raping a minor girl, ruling that the prosecution's evidence was not "cogent and clinching" and questioning the victim's claim of recording the act on her phone.
Special Judge Premal S Vithalani (for POCSO Act cases), in the order on April 9, also highlighted contradictions in the victim's testimony.
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 her on multiple occasions after obtaining her house keys from her mother.
The victim claimed 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 accused, however, took advantage of the situation, went to the victim's house and raped her on multiple occasions after threatening her, the prosecution said.
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 breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Key Issues in the Case
The court, however, said, "It is highly improbable that the culprit committing rape would allow the victim to video shoot the act on mobile phone."
While a forensic report mentioned two videos featuring a male person, the prosecution failed to prove those videos in court, it noted.
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.
"Definitely, major inconsistencies in two versions would affect the case of the prosecution," the judge noted.
Factors Leading to Acquittal
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.
"In this situation, it is highly difficult to place reliance on the testimony of the victim," the court remarked.
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.
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