'Injury Bound To Occur If Victim Of Tender Age Is Subjected To Rape': Allahabad HC Acquits Accused In 2001 Rape Case

On Wednesday, the Allahabad High Court acquitted an accused who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court (in 2002) for allegedly raping a 6-year-old girl in 2001 as it noted that the medical evidence did not show any injury caused to the victim girl. A bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Dr Gautam Chowdhary noted that at the tender age of six years if the victim is subjected to rape, some injury is bound to occur and be reflected in the medical papers or the testimony of the doctor. The Court also took note of the medical report, which stated that the girl's private part could admit only the tip of a finger. Additionally, the supplementary report indicated that no spermatozoa were found, which led to the conclusion that there was no medical evidence of rape on record. “The medical examination of the victim was conducted within six and half hours of the time of incident and had there been any such bleeding, the doctor would not have opined that vagina admits tip of the finger. The opinion of the doctor that no rape has been committed has been completely ignored by the trial Court” [Editor's Note: The Supreme Court in 2022 reiterated its prohibition on the "Two-Finger Test" in rape cases and warned that persons conducting such tests will be held guilty of misconduct. The Top Court also called it 'regrettable' that the "two-finger test" continues to be undertaken even today.] The High Court also considered that the statements of witnesses of fact and the victim did not corroborate with the medical evidence, and there were contradictions in how the witnesses observed the alleged offence. Importantly, the Court also noted that when the victim's statement was recorded during the trial, she had merely shaken her neck while answering the questions, which was not entirely reliable. “The possibility of minor victim having been tortured to shake her neck instead of giving oral reply cannot be ruled out particularly as a girl of 5-6 years may ably answer the questions put to her,” the Court noted. The Court was essentially dealing with a criminal appeal moved by the accused-Heera who was implicated in the case based on a written report of the father of the victim, who claimed that on March 31, 2002, when his daughter was alone at her home, the accused/appellant enticed her away and took her to the wheat field and committed rape upon her. During the trial, the Court of Sessions concluded that the accused appellant's guilt had been established beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, the accused-appellant was convicted and sentenced as per the law. Challenging the impugned judgement, order of conviction, and sentence, the accused/appellant moved the HC, wherein his counsel submitted that the witnesses' testimonies were unreliable and that the accused/appellant had been falsely implicated. It was also submitted that the victim did not sustain any internal or external injury, and the medical examination and the supplementary medical report did not corroborate with the prosecution version. On the other hand, AGA for the state defended the trial court's judgement. Considering the inconsistencies in the prosecution version, the victim's cross-examination, the medical evidence, and the lack of injury, the Court acquitted the accused. Appearances Counsel for Appellant: Shyam Babu Vaish Counsel for Respondent: GA Case title – Heera vs. State Of U.P. 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 531 Case citation: 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 531 Click Here To Read/Download Order

'Injury Bound To Occur If Victim Of Tender Age Is Subjected To Rape': Allahabad HC Acquits Accused In 2001 Rape Case

Sparsh Upadhyay

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