A man, who was accused of raping and sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl, has been acquitted by a Delhi court as she turned hostile after marrying him two years later, during the pendency of the trial.
Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma absolved the man, a Delhi resident, of the offences under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and section 4 (penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
"I am of the considered opinion that the prosecution has failed to prove the charges against the accused person and therefore, the accused is entitled for acquittal," the judge said.
The court observed that since "star witnesses, including the victim, have turned hostile, no useful purpose would have been served in continuing with the trial as the prosecution could not have succeeded in securing conviction of the accused."
According to the prosecution, the minor girl had lodged a complaint against the man alleging that he raped her after their marriage was called off by her mother due to his drug addiction.
She had further alleged that on October 22, 2010, she was alone at home and the accused forcibly established physical relations with her and threatened to kill her if she disclosed it to anyone, it had said.
The court noted that the girl and her mother, however, turned hostile during cross-examination and denied the allegations, saying that there was some misunderstanding because of which the complaint was lodged and that the girl and the accused were now happily married.
The girl's mother said she did not want any action against the accused as her daughter is happy and she does not want her family life to be disturbed, the court noted.
During the trial, the man had denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
