Supreme Court Restores Rape Case Acquittal As Forensic Evidence Contradicts Prosecution Version The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 11) overturned the Himachal Pradesh High Court's conviction of a man accused of raping a 4 ½-year-old girl, restoring the trial court's original acquittal. The court ruled that forensic and medical evidence contradicted the prosecution's claims, highlighting the absence of blood on the victim's clothes and the lack of injuries on her body as critical factors undermining the case. The decision was delivered by a bench comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar, who set aside the High Court's reversal of the trial court's judgment. The case centered on allegations that the accused, a man, sexually assaulted the minor girl after she returned from a neighbor's house. According to the prosecution, the child informed her mother about the incident, and bloodstains were allegedly found on her clothes. An FIR was filed, leading to a trial court acquittal in 2010. However, the High Court later overturned this decision, convicting the accused and sentencing him to ten years' rigorous imprisonment. The accused appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the evidence did not support the conviction. The Supreme Court's ruling emphasized the forensic and medical evidence as central to its decision. The court noted 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 hymen was found intact, and there was no evidence of penetration.#supreme_court #justice_ujjal_bhuyan #forensic_science_laboratory #himachal_pradesh_high_court #justice_atul_s_chandurkar
Supreme Court Questions Criminal Charge Of Sexual Assault In Long-Term Live-In Relationship The Supreme Court on Monday raised critical questions about the validity of a criminal charge of sexual assault based on a false promise of marriage in a long-term live-in relationship. A bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was examining a woman’s plea against the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s decision to dismiss her FIR under Sections 69, 115(2), and 74 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2024. The FIR accused her former live-in partner of exploitation through a false marriage promise. The woman alleged that the accused, who was already married, had lured her at a young age, concealed his marital status, and promised to marry her. She claimed he sexually exploited her after she became a widow. During the hearing, Justice Nagarathna emphasized the need to scrutinize the nature of the relationship, questioning why the complainant had chosen to live with the accused before marriage and why she delayed filing the complaint. She remarked that such inquiries could be perceived as victim-shaming, but stressed the importance of examining the facts. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the accused had manipulated the complainant’s vulnerability after she became a widow at 18. They contended that the accused had promised marriage, leading her to enter the relationship, only to abandon her later. Justice Nagarathna, however, highlighted the inherent risks of live-in relationships, noting that separation does not automatically constitute a criminal offense. She pointed out that the complainant had lived with the accused for 15 years, had a child with him, and that his departure was a natural consequence of the lack of a legal marriage bond.#supreme_court #madhya_pradesh_high_court #justice_bv_nagarathna #justice_ujjal_bhuyan #bharatiya_nyaya_sanhita_2024
