Man freed of rape charge as sister’s account ‘unreliable’

NEW DELHI: A man accused of raping his minor sister was acquitted after a Delhi court termed her an “unreliable” witness and called her testimony “blatant falsehood”. The court also noted that none of the family members testified in favour of the minor.

“In such a situation, one will think that the family members will be happy to see him (accused brother) in custody and will have, at least, after his arrest, supported the victim. Instead, the mother deposed in the favour of the accused,” the special Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) court said.

The judgment reveals that the girl had filed an FIR on July 21, 2015 where she alleged that her brother had raped her and even threatened to kill her if she told anyone. She added that he had tried to rape her that morning, prompting her to run to the police station.

However, in her statement recorded under Section 164 CrPC before a court, she narrated her ordeal a little differently. She said her brother had raped her six to seven days ago, and had been doing it for the past six months. The survivor also claimed that her younger sister, too, was being sexually assaulted by him. She added that the accused would beat her mother and other family members, which made him brazenly go about his escapades.

The defence counsel, Dipankar Mohan, contested the claims and argued that the accused was entitled to be acquitted as the girl had given contradictory testimonies. He asserted that she had once claimed that the accused was working in another city when the crime was supposed to have taken place. “Further, the friend of the victim has not supported the case and his testimony contradicts the claim of the victim. Her mother, too, has deposed in favour of the accused,” added Mohan.

The prosecutor, on the other hand, argued that there was no reason why the victim would implicate her brother. The mother’s statement was termed to be irrelevant by the prosecutor.

From the girl’s statements, the court noted that she had categorically spoken about her brother’s job for which he did not stay in the city for about one-and-a-half years. “Having admitted that, the accused was not in Delhi for about one-one-and-a-half years prior to May 5, 2015. The allegations of time of rape is about five-six months prior to July 21, 2015, on the face of it, false,” the court observed.

The court added that, “The victim was found to be an unreliable witness....allegation had been found to be a blatant falsehood…It may be noted that there is no scientific evidence as no samples were taken for the (alleged) offence having been committed some time ago. The accused thus stands acquitted.”