Case Overview: Acquittal of a Doctor by Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court recently overturned the conviction of a doctor who was sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly raping his 6-year-old daughter in 2018. The decision was rendered by a bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Jai Krishan Upadhyay, who also acquitted the doctor’s brother, previously convicted by a trial court. The court concluded that the child’s mother, estranged from her husband, had tutored the child to make false allegations against her father.
Background of the Allegations
The case originated in March 2018 when the child’s mother, herself a doctor, filed a police complaint asserting that her daughter had been sexually abused by her husband while in Haldwani. The mother claimed that her daughter disclosed the abuse after returning to Varanasi in April 2018. The accused doctor and his brother faced charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
High Court’s Findings
Upon reviewing the evidence, the High Court observed that the child had spent a cheerful period with her father in Haldwani, with regular communication with her mother. The child had a separate mobile phone and had taken photographs, which were submitted as evidence. The court noted inconsistencies in the mother’s narrative and highlighted an email where she accused her husband of misconduct but did not mention any penetrative sexual assault.
Critique of the Prosecution’s Case
The court scrutinized the timeline and noted that the allegations seemed to evolve over time, particularly after the father filed for divorce. The mother’s email branded her husband as a paedophile and accused him of inappropriate behavior, but it did not align with the eventual charges. The court found this discrepancy pivotal, indicating that charges of aggravated penetrative sexual assault were manufactured.
Conclusion and Legal Implications
Justice Varma and Justice Upadhyay concluded that the mother manipulated the situation, using her daughter in a marital dispute. The delayed filing of the FIR was seen as indicative of the mother’s strategic maneuvering. The court emphasized that testimony from child witnesses in POCSO cases requires careful consideration. The judges ruled that the evidence against the accused was insufficient, leading to their acquittal.
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Senior Advocate IK Chaturvedi, along with Advocates Saurabh Chaturvedi, Rajeev Dwivedi, Raj Vyas, and Navneet Pandey, represented the accused. Advocate Dharmendra Kumar Chaubey appeared for the complainant, while Additional Government Advocates CB Dhar Dubey and Muni Raj Mehrotra represented the State.
