Cannot Assume Sexual Assault Merely Because Semen Of Accused Was Detected On ‘Legging’ Of Victim: Delhi HC Acquits Gang Rape Accused
|The Delhi High Court acquitted four men accused of gangraping a woman observing that even though semen was detected on the ‘legging’ of the victim which matched the DNA profile of the accused, it cannot be assumed to be a case of sexual assault.
The Court called the version of the victim untrustworthy because during the medical examination, the doctor did not notice any “fresh injury”, “fresh bleeding” while “hymen rupture was found, albeit, to be the old one.”
The Court further commented that “such sexual assault was forcible in nature and against her wish and consent and in such a situation, there should have been some injury on her body suggesting forcible sexual assault.”
A Division Bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain observed, “It is quite baffling and mysterious as to why the police did not collect the CDR details of mobile…It seems that no effort was made to obtain the Call Details Record and to place the same on record. Holding back such valuable piece of evidence has to be taken as a circumstance against the prosecution. We will not mince any word in commenting that Call Details Record of ‘G’ would have also reflected her location which could have even strengthened the case of prosecution but is not explicable as to why such valuable piece of evidence was not bothered to be collected. Thus, a golden opportunity went begging.”
Sr. Advocate Harshvir Pratap Sharma represented the appellants, while APP Manjeet Arya appeared for the respondent.
The case of the prosecution was that the victim was gang-raped by four men and was left on the road thereafter. However, in her recorded statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C. she claimed that she filed an FIR out of fear since she had reached home very late one that day. In her statement, she never claimed that she had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted by anyone, much less by the appellants. The victim even deposed that she lodged the complaint under the influence of her family as it would bring a bad name to the family since she had gone missing.
The appellants were held guilty by the trial court and were convicted for offences under Sections 328, 366, 342 and 34 IPC and Section 376D IPC.
Despite her exhaustive cross-examination, the victim denied that she had been abducted or raped by the appellants. The Court noted that even the police investigation could not shed light on the actual incident of alleged kidnapping and rape.
“‘G’ and her parents have not supported the case of prosecution and there is nothing on record which might indicate that…all the appellants had put handkerchief on the face of ‘G’ due to which she became unconscious and thereafter gang-raped. There is no fact, evidence or circumstance indicating the same,” the Court remarked.
Accordingly, the High Court allowed the appeal and acquitted the accused.
Cause Title: Pawan Sharma & Ors. v. State Govt Of NCT of Delhi (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC:2531-DB)
Appearance:
Appellants: Sr. Advocate Harshvir Pratap Sharma; Advocates Stuti Jain, Akshu Jain, Akul Krishnan and Amit Kumar
Respondent: APP Manjeet Arya