NEW DELHI: ‘Peepli Live’ co-director Mahmood Farooqui will walk free from Tihar Jail, with the Delhi High Court today acquitting him in a rape case involving a US researcher, saying it remained doubtful whether any such incident took place.
The High Court, which analysed the case, gave the film- maker the benefit of doubt and set aside the trial court order that had awarded a seven-year jail term to Farooqui after convicting him for the alleged rape of a 30-year-old American researcher at his south Delhi residence in March 2015.
Justice Ashutosh Kumar asked the Tihar jail authorities to forthwith release Farooqui, who has been in custody since August 4, 2016.
While reading out the operative portion of the verdict, the judge said “the testimony of the victim is not reliable and there are discrepancies.”
In the 82-page judgement, the court said though Farooqui’s mental condition of bipolar disorder may not be a ground to justify any act which is prohibited under law, it can be taken into consideration while deciding whether he had the correct cognitive perception to understand the exact import of any communication by the other person. (AGENCIES)
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