Untorn Clothes of Alleged Victim Suggest Consent: Punjab & Haryana HC Acquits Accused in Rape Case

Untorn Clothes of Alleged Victim Suggest Consent: Punjab & Haryana HC Acquits Accused in Rape Case

Introduction

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted the accused in a rape case based on inconsistencies in the victim’s testimony and the fact that her clothes were not torn at the scene of the incident. The court also held that if the sexual assault had been non-consensual, the victim’s clothes would have been torn, whereas the clothes were intact at the scene of the incident, leading to the conclusion that the incident may have been consensual.

Facts of the case

The case pertained to an appeal in which the accused Arjun Singh was convicted under Section 376(2)(g) of the Indian Penal Code (gang rape) and was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life. In the appeal, the second accused was also convicted under the same section but was acquitted by the court as the victim had turned hostile.

The court observed that the victim had stated that she had made a loud noise, but no one heard her voice as the accused had locked the door of the room from inside. The court found this to be false. Moreover, the victim did not speak to anyone about the incident after returning home, raising doubts that the incident may have been consensual.

Petitioner’s Argument

The petitioner  argued that there were inconsistencies in the victim’s testimony, and that her clothes were intact at the scene of the incident, which shows that the incident may have been consensual. The petitioner also claimed that the victim changed her testimony several times, making her testimony unreliable.

Respondent’s Argument

The respondent stated in her testimony that she was raped and had raised an alarm against the accused but was ignored. She also stated that the accused had locked the room’s door from inside, which prevented her from getting help. However, the respondent stated that her clothes were intact at the scene of the incident, and she did not speak to anyone about it after the incident.

Court’s Observations

The court said that the victim’s clothes were found at the scene of the incident without any partial damage, which shows that the incident may have happened with consent. The court also held that if it was a rape incident, the victim’s clothes would have been torn. The Court Observed that:

The existence of untorn clothes of the prosecutrix, at the crime site, also is magnificatory that, as such, the prosecutrix was a consensual partner to hers allegedly becoming subjected to sexual intercourse(s) at the instance of the accused Arjun Singh, especially if she was a non-consensual partner to the sexual assault, her clothes would have been torn, rather than her clothes being found in an untorn condition at the crime site.”

The court further said that the victim had made several corrections in her testimony, such as she had earlier said that she was wearing jeans and top, but later she said that she was wearing a suit. The court considered this as a change in testimony and a false statement, which went in favor of the accused.

The court also said that due to the inconsistency in the victim’s testimony and the corrections made by her, her testimony cannot be trusted. The court said that in this situation it would be appropriate to give the advantage to the accused.

Court’s decision

The court acquitted the accused on the basis of inconsistency in the victim’s testimony and other reasons. The court held that since the testimony cannot be trusted and there is no concrete evidence in the case, the accused cannot be convicted.

Conclusion

The Punjab and Haryana High Court made it clear in this judgment that the accused cannot be convicted due to inconsistencies in testimony and lack of other evidence. The court acquitted the accused and ordered that he be given the benefit of correction in testimony and false statements. This case shows that the credibility of evidence and proper evaluation of testimony is very important in the judicial process.

Credits: Deeksha Rai

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