Daijiworld Media Network – Chandigarh
Chandigarh, Dec 9: A district court in Chandigarh has acquitted a man accused of kidnapping and raping a teenage girl, observing that the girl appeared “very happy” in wedding reception photographs and noting contradictions in the prosecution’s case.
Dr Yashika, Additional District and Sessions Judge, ruled that it “cannot be believed that the accused had established physical relations with her against her wishes,” adding that the girl herself had consented to any relations with the accused. The court also noted that the girl could not be conclusively proven to be a minor at the time of the alleged incident, and therefore was at liberty to enter into a consensual relationship.
The case arose after the girl’s father filed a police complaint on May 14, 2023, claiming that his 15-year-old daughter had been enticed away by the accused under the pretext of marriage. Police registered an FIR under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (2)(n) (rape) of the IPC, along with sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act. The accused had denied the charges.
During the trial, the court applied a margin of error to the estimated age of the girl, concluding she was likely over 18 at the time of the alleged incident. The absence of official documents such as school or municipal records further weakened the prosecution’s claim that the girl was a minor.
The court also highlighted that the girl lived only five to six houses away from the accused, giving her every opportunity to return home, and that wedding photographs showed her appearing happy. Considering her conduct and lack of alarm during the alleged incidents, the court inferred that she had voluntarily entered into a relationship with the accused.
The judgment noted material contradictions between the statements of the girl and her father, raising doubts about the prosecution story. “The possibility of false implication cannot be ruled out,” the court observed, concluding that the girl had “slipped along with the accused” and had not been kidnapped for illicit purposes.