New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) Refusing to rely on the statementof a woman that she was raped and assaulted by a templepriest, a Delhi court has acquitted him observing that thingsdo not appear to have happened the way they were projected.
Additional Sessions Judge Sanjiv Jain said though in rapecases conviction can be made on the sole testimony of thevictim, in this case the woman's statement was "exaggerated"and led to doubts on the veracity of her evidence. Therefore,it is not safe to rely on her "uncorroborated version".
The court relied on the priest's version that he wasassaulted by the woman on an assumption that he had a role inbreaking the engagement of her son.
He contended that the girl's family broke the engagementwith the woman's elder son after they found out that herhusband was involved in a murder case and her younger son hadeloped with a relative.
"I am of the view that the circumstances appearing inthis case when examined... do not lead to any decisiveconclusion that the accused committed sexual intercourse withthe prosecutrix without her consent after intoxicating her andcaused her injuries.
"The testimony of the woman does not appear to be ofsterling quality. There are embellishments and exaggerationsin her testimony which go to the root of the case. The thingsappear to have not happened in the manner they have beenprojected," the judge said.
The court also observed that in such criminal cases,testimony of a victim is relied upon even without any medicalcorroboration and a rape victim's statement commands greatrespect and acceptability.
"... but if there are some circumstances which castdoubts in the mind of the court on the veracity of thevictim's evidence then it is not safe to rely on theuncorroborated version of the victim of rape," it said.
According to the prosecution, a complaint was lodged bythe woman at Jaitpur police station in south Delhi, that shevisited the house of the priest on June 5, 2014 to get thedate of her son's wedding fixed.
However, the accused made her consume a drink after whichshe felt dizzy, it said, adding that taking advantage of hercondition, he raped and assaulted her.
In his statement recorded under CrPC, the accused deniedthe allegations before the court and claimed that he wasfalsely implicated and assaulted by the woman and her familymembers to wreak vengeance after her son's engagement wascalled off. PTI AGRT.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.