[ad_1]
By Vidya : While setting aside a conviction and letting an accused walk out of prison, the Bombay High Court observed that the dignity of a woman is to be protected at any cost, but it cannot absolve the prosecution of establishing its case beyond reasonable doubt.
A bench of Justice Bharti Dange was hearing an appeal filed by a man, who was sentenced to two years in prison, for allegedly using criminal force on his 17-year-old girlfriend at a bus stop in Mumbai. The man was charged for outraging her modesty.
ALSO READ | Widows do not have to maintain parents-in-law: Bombay High Court
Justice Dangre said, “True, it is that the dignity of a woman is to be protected at any cost, but that itself does not absolve the prosecution of establishing its case beyond reasonable doubt. Since, the prosecution has miserably failed to discharge the burden caste on it. The benefit must necessarily go to the accused.”
According to the prosecution, on February 5, 2022, the 22-year-old accused and the victim were in a relationship. But when the girl came to know that the man was in jail for a year in another case, she started avoiding him and wanted to end their relationship. The man insisted that they should see each other for one last time and so they met in February last year.
During the meeting, the man started checking the girl’s phone, claiming that she was cheating on him. The victim along with another friend were at Mahalaxmi station when he assaulted her, pulled her hair and slapped her publicly. The man forcibly took the girl to Churchgate by holding her hand firmly and demanded that they should be in the relationship. The entire incident was also captured on CCTV footage which showed the accused assaulting his girlfriend, before being rescued by another girl.
The accused, on the other hand, said that he did not want to be in the relationship. He asserted that he saw the girl with her boyfriend. He claimed that he did not beat her and it was the girl who was threatening him with dire consequences if he did not remain in the relationship.
ALSO READ | Bombay High Court upholds life term of man who killed his girlfriend over loyalty
Justice Dangre went through the various statements of the victim and her friend and saw that they “suffer from several inconsistencies and omissions”.
The prosecution had brought in a lemonade vendor to prove its case. However, in the cross examination, he admitted that he was at a distance from where the incident took place. When asked to identify the accused, he said he was unable to identify him as well.
The court ruled that the due procedure in handing over the CCTV footage to the investigators had not been followed and thus, lost its evidentiary value.
[ad_2]
