Haryana: Fatehabad court acquits rape accused, gives him benefit of doubt

A court in Haryana's Fatehabad has acquitted a rape accused while extending the benefit of doubt to him, and observed that there was a delay of around two-and-half months in lodging the FIR.

The fast-track special court of additional district and sessions judge Balwant Singh held that the prosecution has failed to prove the case against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.

''Extending the benefit of doubt, the accused is acquitted of charges levelled against him,'' according to the order.

The judge said the victim's story that she did not disclose the incident to anyone due to fear and defamation is a ''concocted story to make the consensual act to a forcible act.'' A woman had accused a resident of Tohana of raping her. A case was lodged against Balwinder at Tohana city police station in June 2021.

In her complaint, the woman alleged that Balwinder entered the house at 10:30 pm on April 5, 2021, and allegedly raped her. Her husband was not at home while her children were sleeping, she had alleged in her complaint.

The next day, the accused again entered the house by scaling the boundary wall and again allegedly raped her, alleged the woman. The accused threatened that he would kill her along with her family if she disclosed the incident to anyone, she alleged in the complaint. However, the counsel of the accused stated that the prosecution has failed to prove its case by leading cogent and reliable evidence.

The counsel argued that there was an unexplained delay in lodging the FIR. The counsel further stated that the FIR was lodged under pressure from the woman's husband.

It was argued that she was a consenting party and when these activities of the woman came to the notice of her husband, he forced her to get a false case registered against the accused.

After hearing arguments of both the parties, the judge said, ''The story of the victim that she did not disclose the incident to anyone, due to fear and defamation is a concocted story to make the consensual act to a forcible act. She is an able-bodied woman, aged about 36 years.

It is not believable that a single person would gag her mouth and take her to another room for sexual assault and she was not able to raise alarm, said the order.

''If the mouth of a person is gagged and is taken to a particular distance by a single person and rape is committed, it is not possible that the said culprit would be able to keep the mouth of the victim gagged by one hand and do other things forcibly by a single hand against an able-bodied lady,'' said the order.

It is not the case of the victim that she was handicapped or suffering from any other ailment, due to which, she could not resist the attack of sexual assault, according to the order.

It was a specific case of the accused that the victim was having close intimacy with him and she made sexual relationship with him with free will and consent but this relationship was disclosed to her husband by his neighbour due to which, the victim got a case registered under pressure from her husband, it said.

The judge observed that there was a delay of about two and half months in lodging the FIR.

''This shows that the victim was a consenting party and she was not interested to disclose the above stated facts to her husband and when one neighbour disclosed about the face and conduct of the accused to her husband, she developed a story of committing rape her by the accused,'' said the judge.