Man acquitted of rape charges

THE COURT OBSERVED THAT THE “WOMAN HAD STAYED WITH THE ACCUSED WILFULLY

NEW DELHI : A city court has acquitted a man accused of threatening, kidnapping and raping a 21-year-old woman, after noting that she had voluntarily left her home and stayed with him for 20 months.

According to the prosecution, the woman claimed that on April 8, 2015, she was on her way to write her first -ear B.com exam when she met the suspect. She knew him since her school days, she told police.

She alleged he forcibly took her to Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, threatened and raped her.

Based on her complaint, a case under sections 366 (kidnapping), 376 (2) (n) (committing rape repeatedly on the same woman) and 506 (II) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the accused in southwest Delhi’s Dwarka Sector 23 police station. He pleaded not guilty and wanted a trial.

But while deposing before the court, the woman said she had voluntarily gone with the accused and married him at a temple. Both had obtained protection orders from the High Court of Punjab and Haryana as they were allegedly receiving threats from their relatives.

The woman told the court that the accused never pressured her to accompany him and nor had raped her.

The court observed that the “woman had stayed with the accused wilfully and consensually.”

“From the testimony of the prosecutrix (victim), it is evident that prosecutrix voluntarily left her home and went with the accused on April 8, 2015 for Ahmedabad. The pprosecutrix went with the accused to a different place and stayed with him for almost 20 months,” said the court.

Additional sessions judge Gautam Manan said that in view of the deposition of the woman, the accused cannot be held guilty of threatening, kidnapping and committing repeated rape upon her. Hence, the accused was acquitted of the charges.