Jammu Court Exonerates Accused in False Rape Allegation Case
A trial court in Jammu has acquitted a man accused of raping his niece, citing a flawed and manipulated police investigation that led to his wrongful imprisonment. The judgment, issued by Judge Amarjeet Singh Langeh, revealed the case to be baseless and the investigation to be severely compromised.
The accused endured a year and seven months in jail before the court found the accusations to be unfounded. The judgment highlighted the erroneous assumption by some police officers that they can act outside the boundaries of the law, which resulted in significant trauma and reputational damage to the accused.
Judge Langeh’s May 29 order emphasized the investigation’s tainted nature, stating, “It is because of a tainted and fabricated investigation that the accused seems to have faced the trauma of being framed up in an occurrence which never took place.” Consequently, the court ordered the acquittal of the accused.
Departmental Inquiry and Legal Actions Ordered
The court has mandated a departmental inquiry against the investigating officer (IO) and his supervising officer, instructing the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Jammu, to initiate the process. Additionally, the niece who filed the false complaint may face charges under Section 182 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) for providing false information.
The court also directed an inquiry into two witnesses—a person claiming to be an NGO worker and a housewife—who allegedly encouraged the complainant to file the false charges. Should these allegations prove true, the court has ordered legal action against them.
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Case Details and Court Observations
The case originated from allegations by a 20-21-year-old woman that her uncle raped her twice in May 2022. She claimed she initially refrained from informing her parents due to her father’s paralysis and her own fear.
Her testimony involved contacting her brother in Punjab and later reaching out to NGO workers. Eventually, she filed a police report with her mother and the said NGO workers, leading to her uncle’s arrest in May 2022. He remained incarcerated until his release on bail in December 2023.
The trial court, however, found no medical evidence supporting the rape allegations. The victim’s testimony was deemed unreliable, and significant inconsistencies were noted between her police statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and her court testimony.
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Notably, the court questioned the plausibility of the alleged events occurring without detection by other family members residing in the same household. The court described the scenario as “absurd and palpably improbable.”
Further Inquiry into Witnesses’ Roles
The court scrutinized the roles of two women who were initially introduced as NGO workers. One later claimed to be a housewife, while the other admitted to being an NGO worker who became involved after receiving messages from the alleged victim. The court expressed concern over the potential misuse of legal processes prompted by external influences.
The judgment criticized the police investigation, highlighting the delayed site visit by the IO, and labeled the investigation as “fabricated, botched, and concocted.” Consequently, the accused was acquitted of all charges.
The prosecution was represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Ajay Dogra, while Chief Legal Aid Defense Counsel Anil Sharma represented the accused.
