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Thane: A special court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted a man accused of the kidnap and rape of a 17-year-old girl, noting that she had eloped willingly and was old enough to understand the consequences of her action.
Special judge D S Deshmukh held that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against the alleged accused, who needs to be given the benefit of the doubt.
The man was acquitted of charges under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
A copy of the order passed on February 4 was made available on Monday.
The special public prosecutor informed the court that the girl's mother lodged a complaint after she went missing from home on July 6, 2023.
The girl contacted her mother on July 13, stating she wished to return home, but the accused was preventing her. The police subsequently brought both the girl and the alleged accused to Kalwa from Sangli, they said.
According to the prosecution, the girl's statement revealed that she had sent money to the accused, who was her neighbour, and he then persuaded her to leave home with him. He took her to Sangli, where he allegedly repeatedly raped her against her will.
The man was arrested and is currently on bail. The girl subsequently married him after turning 18.
The judge, in his order, noted that the girl, in her cross-examination, admitted to leaving home voluntarily with the accused and stated that she had no grievances against him.
The order stated that her statement also supports the alleged accused's narrative, as she mentioned proposing to him and going with him willingly.
The court observed that the girl, aged 17 years and 9 months at the time of the elopement, was old enough to understand the consequences of her actions, making her testimony more favourable to the defence.