'DNA report proves paternity not absence of consent': Delhi High Court acquits rape convict

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has observed that a DNA report only proved paternity and not the absence of consent and acquitted a rape convict sentenced to a 10-year jail term.

Justice Amit Mahajan said though the DNA report had established the child born to the woman was biologically fathered by the accused, the pregnancy was "insufficient" to prove the offence of rape unless it was also proved that the act was non-consensual.

"The DNA report merely proves paternity-it does not and cannot, by itself, establish the absence of consent. It is trite law that the offence under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC hinges on the absence of consent," the court on March 20 said.

The circumstances surrounding the case had rendered the prosecution’s case "highly improbable", it added.

The judge also did not rule out the possibility of the FIR--registered belatedly without an explanation--to be a "reaction to social pressure". "The possibility that the allegations were made to retrospectively reframe a consensual relationship as rape, in order to shield the prosecutrix and her family from societal backlash, cannot be ruled out," the court said.

The benefit of the doubt, it said, must go to the appellant.

"The law, of course, does not presume consent merely from silence. But it also does not convict in the absence of proof beyond reasonable doubt. And in this case, doubt persists—not due to conjecture, but due to the evidence itself," the court added.

While the woman's testimony was found to be inconsistent, the court observed medical and forensic evidences were absent to establish rape.

Despite being an adult, educated, and living in the company of her family, the court observed, the woman offered no explanation on why she did not approach the authorities earlier.

The verdict pointed out that the woman continued to visit the man's home to play Ludo over an extended period and even developed an affection towards him.

Further, there was no medical evidence to indicate force or resistance and there was inconsistency in the prosecutrix’s narrative that diminished the credibility of her testimony, the court said.

"The conduct of the prosecutrix is incompatible with the narrative of coercion and the delay is wholly unexplained," the court said.

The woman had alleged that the man, who lived in her neighbourhood, raped her multiple times after inviting her to his house on the pretext of playing Ludo.

She said the last incident occurred sometime in October or November in 2017 and she subsequently learnt that she was pregnant.

An FIR against the man was registered in January 2018 and a trial court convicted him in December 2022.

He challenged his punishment on the ground that his relationship with the woman was consensual.