Mumbai : In a major respite to a city-based businessman, the Bombay High Court recently set aside the seven years rigorous imprisonment imposed upon him for allegedly raping his own minor daughter. The HC accordingly acquitted him of the charge, which his daughter levelled against him at the behest of his relatives. A single-judge bench of Justice Anant Badar acquitted John Sheri.
Sheri was accused of raping his own daughter, who was a minor at the relevant time. The daughter, who had registered an FIR against Sheri, claimed that her father raped her continuously from 2010 till 2011. She claimed that initially she disclosed the incident to her mother, who used to run an illicit liquor business and after that, she went to her father’s cousin and filed the FIR against Sheri.
Having considered the rival contentions, Justice Badar said, “To conclude, the evidence adduced by the prosecutrix is not sufficient to come to the conclusion that Sheri had committed rape on his minor daughter. The available material on record is not sufficient to prompt the prudent person to form an opinion that Sheri had committed rape.”
“For the reasons best known to the prosecution, this Court is unable to understand as to why the mother of the prosecutrix was not examined, as the incident was first revealed to her. Also, none of the evidence adduced, be it forensic or the statements of other witnesses, is not corroborating with the version of prosecutrix. Moreover, it is still unclear as to whether the prosecutrix lodged the FIR or the cousin of Sheri,” Justice Badar said while directing the Kolhapur jail authorities to forthwith release Sheri.