A fast-track court recently acquitted a man in a rape case as the victim after registering the case did not turn up in the court and efforts made by an investigating officer to trace her went in vain. The court, while acquitting the man, observed that the case appears to be that of a “failed relationship” and the victim filed the case in “frustration” to bring the accused back in her life.
Additional sessions judge Yogesh Khanna acquitted Rahul Chaudhary, a resident of Bhogal, of charges of rape, trespassing and voluntarily causing hurt. The court also acquitted his mother Nisha Chaudhary and his sister of trespassing and voluntarily causing hurt to the victim. “Since the prosecutrix had not come forward to depose about the sexual intercourse/assault and alleged beatings given to her by the accused person, so in the absence of her deposition nothing incriminating had come up on record and, hence, accused persons deserve to be acquitted of the charges framed against them,” the judge said.
According to the prosecution, the victim in the FIR registered on November 15, 2011, had alleged that she, along with the accused, were residing together for about one-and-a-half years, but four months ago he had left her. However, two months later, he again approached her and sexually exploited her on the pretext of marrying her. However, when she insisted him to marry her, the accused abused her and said that he was living with some other girl. She further alleged that on November 5, 2011, the sister, mother, uncle and girlfriend of the accused came to her house with the him and beat and abused her. She also alleged that they threatened to kill her if she did not leave the house.
The court also recorded the statement of the IO in the case, who said that he visited the local address as well as the permanent address of the victim, but she had changed her residence and could not be traced.