Supreme Court comes to rescue of man facing rape charges for 13 years | India News

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court rescued a younger man, who impulsively eloped with a university lady and stayed collectively at Hyderabad for two months however for the subsequent 13 years the man confronted the rigour of police investigation and later, was concurrently convicted of kidnapping and rape by the trial court docket and the Telangana HC.A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta acquitted the man of all charges on discovering that the couple had been in a consensual relationship and had eloped on their very own volition. The trial court docket had convicted and sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment, which was lowered to two years by the HC.The man had eloped along with his pal’s sister on Aug 4, 2012, and the couple stayed at Shadnagar, Hyderabad. The lady’s mom had on Aug 8 lodged a lacking criticism with police. On Oct 12, the man met with an accident whereas driving his bike and was admitted to hospital. On that day the lady returned to her parental dwelling. On her assertion, the police lodged an FIR for kidnapping and rape towards the man.Analysing the proof produced earlier than the trial court docket, the bench mentioned, “The girl’s deposition does not demonstrate that the man forcibly removed or enticed her from the guardianship of her parents with deceit or inducement. She admits having voluntarily accompanied the man on a motorbike on Aug 4, 2012. SC wondered as to why the girl’s mother waited for four days to lodge a missing complaint and said the girl living willingly and without protest with the man for two months generates doubts over the kidnapping theory of the police.The bench said when the man was hospitalised after the accident, she remained with him for two days. On rape charge, it said, “This charge has no legs to stand on, for she only makes a positive statement about the occurrence of sexual intercourse and does not even in the slightest imply the same to be against her will.”Acquitting him of all charges, Justices Karol and Mehta mentioned, “We do not find any evidence which may suggest that the appellant kidnapped the victim from lawful guardianship or confined her, for approximately two months, against her volition in a house at Hyderabad or had sexual intercourse with the victim against her will or without her consent.”