Allahabad High Court Acquits Rape Convict Who Spent 18 Years In Jail With Remission

The Allahabad High Court last week acquitted a rape convict languishing in jail for more than 18 years (with remission) as it found that neither the medical evidence nor the statement of prosecution witnesses supported the case against the rape convict.

"Once we analyze the evidence available on record, we find that neither the medical evidence nor the victim or her father in their deposition before the Court have supported the prosecution case. The statement of the victim under Section 164 Cr.P.C., therefore can not be read in isolation so as to form a basis for the conviction of the accused-appellant when the victim herself has not supported her previous stand in her deposition made before the Court," the bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Shiv Shanker Prasad remarked as it disagreed with the judgment and order of the trial court convicting Raj Kumar (appellant).

The Court, while holding the finding of guilt returned by the Trial Court as unsustainable, observed that the Court below had relied upon the contents of the FIR as also the statement of the victim under Section 164 Cr.P.C. which cannot be treated as a piece of substantive evidence.

The case in brief

As per the prosecution's case, the informant/father (P.W.-1) lodged a report on March 5, 2008, stating that about 5 days back, his eight-year-old minor daughter had been enticed by the accused-appellant and he had committed unnatural sex and also raped her, and bitten her cheeks.

On the basis of such report, the Investigating Officer proceeded and the statement of the victim was recorded under Sections 161 and 164 Cr.P.C. in which she supported the allegation of FIR.

However, in her medical examination, no injuries were found except for a cheek bite. Her hymen was found intact and no injuries were noticed on her private parts. The age of the victim was determined as 11 years. In the pathological report also neither any sperm nor any spermatozoa had been found.

Still, the accused-appellant- Raj Kumar was convicted and sentenced on November 9, 2009, by the Additional Sessions Judge/Fast Track Court No. 2, Agra under Section 376(c) IPC. Challenging this verdict, the convict moved the instant criminal appeal before the High Court.

High Court's observations

At the outset, the Court noted that there was a delay of 5 days in lodging the FIR, and the explanation rendered for the delay was not subtantiated. Essentially, the informant had said that since he got the victim medically treated first and it was only thereafter that the FIR was lodged on March 5, 2008, however, the court noted that no evidence had been produced by the prosecution to show that the victim was medically attended too, earlier, or that she had sustained any injuries which required her hospitalization etc.

The Court further took into account the medical report to note that the same did not support the case of the prosecution. Further, the Court noted that the victim herself had not supported the prosecution case as she had clearly stated in the cross-examination that no untoward act was done against her by the accused-appellant. Even the statement of the father of the victim is to a similar effect.

In view of this, the Court set aside the judgment and order of conviction and sentence passed by the Additional Sessions Judge/Fast Track Court No. 2, Agra against the accused-appellant, and the appeal was allowed.

In related news, earlier this month the Allahabad High Court acquitted a rape convict who spent over 21 years in jail (with remission). The Court also rapped the Uttar Pradesh state authorities for not considering his case for remission.

Read more about the case here: Allahabad HC Acquits Rape Convict In Jail For Over 19 Yrs, Raps Jail Authorities For Not Considering Case For Remission

Case title - Raj Kumar v. State of U.P [CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 7006 of 2009]

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (AB) 509

Click Here To Read/Download Order