DEHRADUN: A Dehradun court has acquitted an ex-Army man of rape charges in a case arising from an alleged relationship initiated through a matrimonial website, holding that the prosecution failed to establish deception, coercion or a legally valid marriage ceremony.
The Additional District and Sessions Court delivered the judgment on Tuesday in a case registered under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code.
The complainant, a 37-year-old widow, had accused Vimay Thapa of sexually exploiting her after posing as an unmarried retired Army officer and businessman based in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
According to the complainant, she came into contact with Thapa through a matrimonial website in April 2023. She told the court that Thapa claimed he was unmarried, said his family had prevented his earlier marriage, and represented himself as a former Army personnel.
After several weeks of online conversations, the woman alleged that Thapa invited her and her two children to Bikaner and arranged their stay at a hotel.
She further claimed that during a later trip to Dehradun, Thapa took her to the Kali Mata Temple in Dharamwala, where he allegedly performed marriage rituals, applied sindoor, tied a mangalsutra and promised to register the marriage in court.
The complainant said Thapa then stayed with her for about 15 days at her rented accommodation in Dehradun and had physical relations with her on the assurance that they were husband and wife.
She approached the police on August 19, 2023, after allegedly discovering through Thapa’s Facebook profile that he was already married and had a child.
During the trial, the prosecution examined six witnesses, including the complainant, her daughter, medical examiner Dr Meghna Aswani, the house owner, Constable Praveen Gulsai and Investigating Officer Sub-Inspector Monika Manral.
However, the court found several shortcomings in the prosecution’s case. The medical report did not support the allegation of forced sexual intercourse.
Dr Aswani testified that there were no internal or external injuries, the hymen was old and torn, the pregnancy test was negative, and no spermatozoa were detected.
Thapa was represented by Senior Advocate B.D. Jha and Advocate Preeti Jha, who argued that the relationship, if any, was consensual and that the allegations were not supported by reliable evidence.
Judge Manjuraj Singh Munde noted that no documentary or independent evidence was produced to prove the alleged temple marriage.
The court observed that no priest was examined, no marriage certificate was submitted, and no photographs of the ceremony were placed on record.
Concluding that both parties were mature adults, the court held that the prosecution had failed to prove the charge of rape beyond reasonable doubt and acquitted Thapa.