Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 23: Presiding Officer Fast Track Court Amarjeet Singh Langeh has acquitted one Sat Pal, who happened to be father-in-law of victim in rape case as investigation was conducted in palpably tainted manner.
After hearing both the sides, the court observed, “undisputedly, in the case in hand prosecutrix happens to be daughter-in-law of accused and she charges him with allegation of rape, assault, wrongful confinement and insult”.
“When allegations against a father-in-law by a daughter-in-law are grave, investigating officer and his supervisory officers are required to be far more cautious, fair and dispassionate in investigating the same. Regrettably, in the case in hand investigating officer as also his supervisory officers do not seem to have fairly and professionally carried out/caused to be carried out the investigation and instead they only toed the wish and desire of prosecutrix and her husband to palpably frame accused in a frivolous and cooked up case”, the court said.
The court further observed, “prosecutrix witness lodges written complaint with police station R S Pura on 11.05.2024 alleging therein that when she was alone at her home along with her two years old child, accused came there in the morning with criminal intention, lashing out abuses on her and also started assaulting her and thereafter he confined her child in another room and started raping her”.
“If a person intends to commit rape on a woman when she is virtually alone at her home, then the allegation that such person (like accused) would approach alleged victim while shouting and lashing out abuses openly so as to attract attention of all and sundry-is an allegation which per se is bizarre and replete with absurdity to say the least”, the court said.
The court further said, “this assumes all the more significance when prosecutrix also claims to have been spared by accused only after some persons assembled at place of occurrence and inexplicably however, investigating officer has neither tried to ascertain as to who those persons were nor anything comes forth on record as to why such persons have not been cited as witnesses in the case so as to have an independent account of their version about alleged occurrence”.
The court held that the material available on record does not provide any glimpse about suspicion leave alone grave suspicion regarding any occurrence as alleged by prosecution-having taken place. Instead, the material on the basis of which investigating officer sought prosecution of accused for offences alleged-only reduces the credibility of prosecution case to smoke and mirrors.
“Present case therefore seems to be a cooked up case against accused and accused has been framed in the same. Challan is therefore dismissed and accused is accordingly discharged”, the court said and ordered that copy of the judgment be sent to Director General of Police for information and indulgence in light of observations.
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