Ghaziabad: A landlord accused of raping the minor daughter of a tenant was acquitted of charges, and the court ordered the filing of a miscellaneous case against the girl’s father for lodging a false case after the six-year-old girl testified in court and denied the entire incident. The case was disposed of in a record four months, with the FIR filed in June this year.Additional sessions judge Neeraj Gautam said that a perusal of the record clearly reveals that the crucial witness in the case, the victim, denied any wrongdoing by the accused.“At the prosecution’s request, the girl was declared hostile. The girl did not support the prosecution’s case, and her testimony alone would not establish any crime against the accused. The plaintiff was also examined as a hostile witness. He also admitted during cross-examination that he was at work at the time of the incident and that his wife and daughter did not tell him anything about the incident after returning from work. The medical examination report also does not reveal any injuries on the girl’s body. Conclusively, the prosecution has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the charges levelled against the accused and he deserves to be given the benefit of doubt and acquitted,” the court held.On June 20, an FIR was registered based on a complaint by the girl’s father, alleging that his six-year-old daughter was inappropriately touched by his landlord the previous day while he was out for work and his wife was taking a bath. A case was registered under BNS Section 65(2) and the Pocso Act. The landlord was arrested.Police completed their investigation within a month and a half. A chargesheet was filed on Aug 2 and the court framed charges on Aug 18. The accused pleaded not guilty and sought trial.The prosecution presented three witnesses, including the complainant, his daughter and the scribe of the FIR. The case took a turn when the complainant did not support the prosecution story. He said that he was not at home on the day of the alleged crime and when he returned, his wife or daughter did not tell him about anything. He said that some unknown people had got his signature on a blank paper and asked him to come to the police station, where he was completely clueless about what was written in the application. The prosecution declared him a hostile witness.The case was further weakened when the girl was presented as a witness. The court asked her a few questions to ascertain if she was in a position to give her statement. She denied any wrongdoing against her by the accused. When asked if she had given any statement to the magistrate, she refused, and on being pointed towards the accused, she confirmed that the man had never done anything wrong with her.The court perused the medical report on record, which also did not indicate any injury to the girl’s private parts. “Police witness has simply confirmed the veracity of the documents and it does not give any support to the prosecution story,” the court noted.Citing the 2016 Supreme Court ruling in the State of Gujarat Vs Jairabhai Panjabhai Vaaru case, the judge said that the burden of proof in criminal law lies with the prosecution. The prosecution has to prove the guilt of the accused beyond all reasonable doubt. It is also the rule of justice in criminal law that if two views are possible on the evidence adduced in the case, one pointing to the guilt of the accused and the other towards his innocence, the view which is favourable to the accused should be adopted. Hence, the judge decided to acquit the landlord of the charges levelled against him.
