Bombay HC acquits man of rape, says impossible for a single man to gag victim, remove her clothes wi
Bombay HC acquits man of rape, says impossible for a single man to gag victim, remove her clothes without scuffle
Overturning the jail term, the HC noted that gagging a girl, removing her clothes, and raping her at the same time is not possible for a single man. The HC also noted that the testimony of the victim does not inspire the confidence of the court as the incident, as narrated, does not appeal to the reason as it is against the natural human conduct.
Rape victims’ testimony not confidence inspiring: HC judge
By Mansoor| Updated: 29th January 2021 10:05 pm IST
Mumbai: A Bombay High Court judge, facing flak for her interpretation of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, had in two recent rulings acquitted two persons accused of raping minor girls, after noting that the victims’ testimony did not inspire confidence to fix criminal liability on the accused.
Justice Pushpa Ganediwala recently acquitted a man accused of groping a 12-year old girl’s breast because he did not make skin-to-skin contact, and days earlier, ruled that holding the hands of a five-year-old girl and unzipping pants do not amount to ‘sexual assault’ under the POCSO Act.
NAGPUR: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on January 17 acquitted a man of raping a 15-year-old girl, ruling that “it seems highly impossible for a single man to gag a survivor’s mouth, remove her and his clothes, and perform the forcible sexual act without any scuffle”.
“Had it been a case of forcible intercourse, there would have been a scuffle. Medical evidence also doesn’t support the survivor’s case as no injuries from a scuffle could be seen,” Justice Pushpa Ganediwala held.
On March 14, 2019, petitioner Suraj Kasarkar (26) was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by a sessions court after being convicted for rape of the minor.