Delhi court acquits army officer in rape case

New Delhi: A Delhi court has acquitted an army officer accused of allegedly raping a woman on the pretext of marriage and said such a promise couldn't be held as "inducement for sex" over an indefinite period of time.

Additional sessions Judge Gajender Singh Nagar conducted the trial against the officer, who was also booked for the charge of unnatural offences and forcing the woman to undergo abortion twice.

In a verdict on January 25, the court said, "It has been held by the superior courts that inducement to have a physical relationship by promising marriage and the victim falling prey to inducement may be understandable in the context of the moment. A promise for marriage cannot be held out as an inducement for engaging in sex over a protracted and indefinite period of time." The allegations, the court said, were "bald" and not proved beyond a reasonable doubt and the woman’s testimony was untrustworthy, blemished and not of sterling quality.

"Rather, the undersigned (judge) is of the considered opinion that the accused did not make physical relations, if any, with prosecutrix forcefully against her will and consent, rather she was a willing party to the said act," it held.

The order went on, "It is apparent that no offence of rape is committed with her (the complainant) and she always wanted to be with the accused, however, due to certain circumstances, their relationship could not fructify." The court pointed out several inconsistencies in the woman’s allegations, including doubts regarding the alleged incident of rape on February 13, 2014, at her rented accommodation.

An order from the Army indicated to the court that the man was sanctioned leaves between February 14 and 15.

"When the accused's leave was sanctioned from February 14, then he must have taken some time to reach Delhi. In such circumstances, it is not possible that the accused was in Delhi on February 13 as claimed by the prosecutrix," it said.

The court found it "strange" that the woman did not confide in her family her ordeal and instead accompanied the man to a hill station.

"It is very strange that despite being raped on February 13, the prosecutrix agreed to visit Manali alone with the accused and stayed with him in the same room where she was raped by the accused again and also got pregnant due to the same, but she did not inform her family about the same forthwith," the order said.

The allegations of pregnancy and abortion were not proved by any scientific or medical evidence, it added.

The statement about the woman’s second pregnancy, after the accused refused to marry her in 2015, was also found to be inconsistent.

"A question arises here, i.e., when the relationship fixed by the family members had already been broken by them, then why the prosecutrix was still going on in a relationship or physical relationship with the accused?" the court asked.

It came on record that the complainant levelled allegations against "each and everyone one connected with the investigation" such as the two investigating officers, the doctor, the counsellor and the magistrate.

"It cannot be presumed that everyone including the doctor and the metropolitan magistrate (MM) would stop the prosecutrix expressly or impliedly from stating complete facts," the court said.