The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 11) restored the acquittal of a man for an offence of rape of a minor, holding that the absence of blood on the victim's clothes and the lack of any injury on her body, as reflected in the forensic and medical evidence, created a grave doubt about the prosecution's case.

A bench of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar set aside the Himachal Pradesh High Court's judgment which had reversed the trial court's decision of acquittal, and convicted the Appellant, ignoring the forensic and medical evidence which contradicted the prosecution's version regarding injuries and bloodstains.

“Absence of any blood on the clothes of the victim as well as on the undergarment of the appellant after the garments were subjected to the 'Benzidine test' as per the FSL report is a relevant factor, which cannot be ignored. Thus, when the oral statements of PW2 and PW3 are considered along with the Final Medical Report and the report of the FSL, a grave doubt is created about the version of PW2 and PW3 as regards injury on the body of the victim and bloodstains on the clothes of the victim. The prosecution evidence neither indicates any injury to the private parts of the victim nor trace of any blood on her clothes.”, the Court observed.

The case related to allegations that a 4 ½ old girl was sexually assaulted by the appellant. According to the prosecution, the child informed her mother about the incident after returning from a neighbour's house, and bloodstains were allegedly noticed on her clothes. An FIR was subsequently lodged.

The trial court, however, acquitted the accused in 2010. The High Court later reversed the acquittal and convicted him, sentencing him to ten years' rigorous imprisonment. The accused challenged the conviction before the Supreme Court.

Setting aside the conviction, the judgment authored by Justice Chandurkar observed that the medical examination of the victim conducted within hours of the alleged incident revealed no signs of injury, inflammation, bruising, redness or laceration. The medical evidence found the hymen intact and suggested no evidence of penetration.

Further, the court took into record the Doctor's testimony who conducted the medical examination, where she noted that no signs of injury on the minor given that she was of a tender age and would ordinarily suffer injuries if subjected to sexual intercourse by an adult male.

“Since inception, it was the stand of PW2 and PW3 that there were bloodstains on the clothes of the victim and the victim stated that she had experienced pain as a result of the alleged sexual act of the appellant. The medical examination conducted within twelve hours of the alleged occurrence, however, belies the presence of any injury whatsoever on her body. The opinion of the MO at the preliminary examination stands confirmed by the Final Medical Report. In addition, the report of the FSL rules out the presence of blood and semen on the clothes of the victim. Traces of semen on the undergarment of the appellant, by itself, is not found relevant in these circumstances.”, the Court observed.

The Court also found inconsistencies regarding the place of occurrence. While the child stated that the incident took place on a cot used by another occupant of the house, the investigating officer testified that the alleged occurrence took place in a kitchen where no cot or bed was present.

“It is further noted that as per the victim, she was raped by the appellant on the cot on which Jaidev Sharma used to sleep. According to the IO, during the course of investigation he noted that the alleged sexual act was committed by the appellant in the kitchen of the house. However, he further stated that there was no cot or bed in the kitchen. He reiterated that even the victim told him that the alleged incident took place in the kitchen. Absence of any cot or bed in the kitchen as admitted by the IO, again raises a doubt as regards the place of occurrence, especially as the victim states that the alleged incident took place on the cot on which Jaidev Sharma used to sleep.”, the Court observed.

"We, therefore, find that the learned Judge of the trial Court had rightly acquitted the appellant of the said accusation. The High Court, in our view, failed to refer to the medical reports as well as the report of the FSL while overturning the acquittal of the appellant. We do not find the material on record sufficient to hold that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The material in that regard falls short and it, in fact, creates a serious doubt about the version of the prosecution. We are, therefore, inclined to restore the judgment of the trial Court after setting aside the judgment of the High Court.", the Court held.

In terms of the aforesaid, the appeal was allowed.

Cause Title: RAM SINGH VERSUS THE STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

Citation : 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 788

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Appearance:

For Appellant(s): Ms. Sonam Gupta, Adv. Mr. Shiva Pande, Adv. Mr. Saumay Kapoor, Adv. Ms. Ritvika Poswal, Adv. Mr. Sanjay Jain, AOR

For Respondent(s): Mr. Vaibhav Srivastava, AAG Ms. Sugandha Anand, AOR Mr. Chetan Anand Mohapatra, Adv.