Naidu acquitted of rape
The Suva High Court yesterday discharged a 44-year- old man from Court proceedings after the judge found him not guilty for a count of rape. Adhi Narayan Naidu was all smiles outside the Court room surrounded by his family members who were present to support him. He was alleged to have raped his neighbour on June 25, 2015.
Naidu was found innocent by the three trial assessors prior to the Court’s judgment.
While acquitting Naidu, Judge Justice Thushara Rajasinghe said the defence case was that there was a six day delay from the day of the alleged offence to the day the complainant reported the rape to the Police. He said the complainant only reported the matter to the Police after her cousin brother and brother-in-law approached and assaulted Naidu.
A report was lodged with Police on July 1, 2015.
In her evidence the complainant said that she did not have the strength to report the alleged incident to the Police on June 25, 2015 on the day of the incident. The accused argued that he had gone to the Police first to report the matter, however the Police directed him to go to the medical centre and whilst he was at the health centre the complainant lodged her report with the Police.
The complainant did not dispute that the accused had also gone to the Police to lodge a complaint.
In his judgment, Justice Rajasinghe said the prosecution failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.
He said he found no reason not to side with the three assessors who found the accused not guilty for the offence of rape. Accordingly Naidu was acquitted and freed by the Court.
He was represented by Legal Aid lawyer Namrata Mishra while Eoghan Samisoni represented the State.