Man gets 10-year RI for rape as court relies on 'sterling quality' of girl's testimony

Thane: Six years after a 15-year-old girl was raped by a 33-year-old man, a special court in Thane has handed him a ten-year rigorous imprisonment while hailing the survivor's testimony as "fully trustworthy" and of "sterling quality".

Special Judge Ruby Malvankar in an order dated June 13, which was made available on Friday, also acknowledged the gravity of the "serious and heinous crime and its lasting negative impact" on the girl.

The court convicted Ajaj @ Ejaj Imran Ismail Khan under sections 376 (Punishment for rape) and 377 (Unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to ten-year rigorous imprisonment on the two counts. The sentences will run concurrently.

The judge also ordered Khan to pay Rs 50,000 in compensation to the victim.

Khan was, however, acquitted of charges including kidnapping and specific sections of the POCSO Act, 2012, as she was not proven to be a child.

The girl was raped in the first week of August 2019 after she went missing from her home in the Uttan Sagari area. The subsequent investigation led to the identification and involvement of Khan, the prosecution said.

Judge Malvankar made several crucial observations, emphasising the victim's credible testimony and rejecting the defence's argument of false implication of the accused by the victim.

"The victim, initially a stranger to the accused, trusted him for shelter but was subjected to immense sexual torture and wrongful confinement," the judge stated while deeming the victim's testimony "fully trustworthy" and of "sterling quality".

Citing a Supreme Court judgement, the judge said that defects in the investigation alone cannot be grounds for acquittal.

The court rejected the defence's argument of consensual relations between the girl and Khan, noting that both were strangers, and the victim's actions to secure rescue were distinctly different from the circumstances in the cited precedent.

The court has also recommended the case to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Thane, for awarding compensation to the victim under the Manodhairya Scheme, Special Public Prosecutor Varsha Chandane said.