Bombay HC Acquits Rape Accused; Says Impossible For A Man To Gag Victim, Remove Clothes Without Scuffle

Noting there were no signs of a scuffle between the victim and the accused, the Bombay High Court acquitted a man charged in a rape case while stating it is highly impossible for a single man to gag, denude and rape without a scuffle.

Justice Pushpa Ganediwala of the Bombay High Court, who has been in news fo her much-talked "skin-to-skin" verdict under POCSO Act, recently acquitted a man charged in a rape case as she mentioned that victim's testimony "does not inspire the confidence". 

The case has been highlighted as the Bombay High Court Judge acquitted the man charged of a rape case stating it is unlikely possible for a single man to gag, strip and rape "without a scuffle".

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“A perusal of the testimony of the victim, does not inspire the confidence of the Court as the incident, as narrated, does not appeal to the reason as it is against the natural human conduct,” said Justice Pushpa Ganediwala of the Bombay High Court.

“Undisputedly, the accused is the neighbour of the victim. It seems highly impossible for a single man to gag the mouth of the victim and remove her clothes and his clothes and to perform the forcible sexual act, without any scuffle,” she also mentioned.

Justice Ganediwala said, “had it been a case of forcible intercourse, there would have been a scuffle between the parties”. 

“In the medical report, no injuries of a scuffle could be seen. The defence of consensual physical relations does appear probable,” she noted while taking into account the girl’s statement wherein she had stated that she would not have had filed the FIR if her mother did not enter the house.

According to the girl, the accused trespassed her house and committed forcible sexual intercourse after gagging her mouth and removing her clothes. The girl further said the accused fled after her mother entered the room.