Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A special court designated under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has acquitted an accused in a case involving serious charges of kidnapping, rape and caste-based atrocity. The court held that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
The case, registered at Depalpur police station in July 2018, alleged that the accused had abducted and raped the prosecutrix under the false promise of marriage. The complaint also stated that the accused’s family later refused the marriage due to caste differences, leading to the invocation of sections under the SC/ST Act.
However, during the trial, the special court observed significant inconsistencies in the prosecution’s narrative. The prosecutrix, who was over 18 years of age at the time of the alleged incident, was found to have voluntarily left her home at midnight while her parents were asleep. WhatsApp chats presented in court showed that she had contacted the accused and asked him to come and pick her up.
The court further noted “several material contradictions” in the prosecutrix's statements recorded during different stages of the investigation and trial, which undermined her credibility.
Additionally, the medical evidence did not corroborate the allegations of sexual assault and the report from the FSL returned negative results, weakening the prosecution's case further.
“The evidence presented failed to meet the threshold required for conviction,” said defence lawyer Shivendra Pandey. “The court rightly acknowledged the voluntary nature of the prosecutrix's actions and the lack of any corroborative material evidence.”
