Man acquitted in rape case; court cites inconclusive age proof, says relationship was consensual
Thane (PTI): A Thane court has acquitted a man accused of raping a girl alleged to be a minor, citing insufficient evidence to establish her age and observing that the relationship appeared to be “more or less consensual in nature.”
The prosecution failed to prove the allegations against the 22-year-old man beyond a reasonable doubt, special judge for POCSO Act cases, Ruby U Malvankar observed in the judgment on November 13.
The accused and the victim resided in the Bhayander area of Maharashtra's Thane district. The man was arrested on May 19, 2020, following an FIR lodged on a complaint by the victim's mother, alleging harassment, abusive calls, and threats by the accused.
He was charged under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and released on bail on August 20, 2020.
The victim later in her statement claimed they had fallen in love and were in a "deep relationship".
The court noted the critical importance of age in POCSO Act cases.
"As per Section 2(d), POCSO Act, a 'child' is a person below the age of 18 years. Hence, it is the primary onus on the prosecution to prove that the victim is a child," it said.
The victim's birth date was stated as June 24, 2003, and her mother claimed to have submitted a photocopy of the birth certificate.
The court, however, said, "Throughout the trial, the original birth certificate reflecting the date of birth of the victim was not produced on record. Resultantly, therefore, there is no evidence on record to conclusively arrive at any legitimate inference in respect of her precise date of birth."
"Therefore, in the absence of any such evidence, the prosecution has failed to prove that the victim was a 'child' below 18 years of age at the relevant time when the incident allegedly took place."
The judge also highlighted several admissions by the victim.
"...her relations with the accused were mostly voluntary, consensual, and of her own free will. She also admitted that if her mother would not have approached the police station, the victim herself would have never gone to the police," the court said.
"...she wanted to marry the accused, and she wanted to have their love affair end in their marriage, and for that purpose, even the relatives from both sides had met each other," it noted.
The relationship between the accused and the victim was "more or less consensual in nature," the court observed.
" The elements of the offences do not get established against the accused and hence, the answers to all the points are required to be recorded in the negative, and the accused deserves to be acquitted," it said.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
