fter having spent four-and-a-half years in incarceration for kidnapping and raping a minor 15 years ago, a man has been let off by the Delhi High Court which found that the girl was at the age of discretion at the time of the incident and she was a consenting party.
A Bench of Justice Indermeet Kaur found that on February 17, 1999, the girl aged 15 years and nine months had herself accompanied the accused, Rameshwar Giri, for sightseeing after which she went with him to Bihar, where they stayed for two days and no force was ever used on her.
The trial court had sentenced Giri to seven years in jail in year 2002.
While acquitting him, the High Court held: “The victim was aged 15 years and 9 months on the date of the offence i.e. just about three months short of the age of 16. Being in the age of discretion, this Court is of the view that she was conscious of her act in accompanying the accused and it cannot be said to be an act of force. The accused is entitled to an acquittal for the offence under Section 376 of the IPC.”
“Even for the offence under Section 363/366 of the IPC (kidnapping) since the victim had accompanied the appellant for sightseeing on her own, having met him at a public place, the ingredients of Sections 363 & 366 which necessarily entail a “taking” or “enticing from the lawful guardianship” is not met,” Justice Kaur said.
The court agreed with the arguments of Giri’s counsel Harshit Jain that the girl herself had stated in her deposition that while she was standing near the public park, the accused invited her to accompany her for sightseeing and she accordingly did so and that there was no active persuasion on the part of the accused; it was an invitation extended by him to the girl which was accepted by her.
The prosecution and ‘victim’s’ case was that Giri was known to her prior to the date of the incident. Her version was that on February 17, 1999, at about 05-30 p.m., she was standing at the public water tank near her house when Giri asked her to accompany him for sightseeing. She went with him and they kept roaming in Delhi for an hour after which he took her to the railway station where he threatened her and took her to his village in Bihar.
During her cross-examination, she said Giri took her to the railway station in a three-wheeler, purchased tickets from a crowded counter, and she stayed for two days at Giri’s house in Bihar where other women members were also present and that she was not threatened by any person.
After 2-3 days, the girl was recovered and her medical examination suggested sexual intercourse but no injury on her person.
The court found that the series of events corroborate the submission of Mr. Jain that the girl was not subjected to any force.
