The Allahabad High Court has overturned a 2002 life sentence of a man accused of raping a six-year-old girl, citing inconsistencies in medical evidence and witness statements.
In a decision made on Thursday, Justices Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Gautam Chowdhary highlighted the absence of corroborative medical evidence to support the allegations of sexual assault that purportedly took place in 2001. The medical examination, conducted within six-and-a-half hours of the alleged incident, failed to demonstrate any injury consistent with the claims of rape against a child of such tender age.
The bench scrutinized the discrepancies and contradictions in witness testimonies, noting significant inconsistencies between the statements of the witnesses and the medical findings. Furthermore, during the trial, the victimโs responses, which included mere head movements, were deemed unreliable by the High Court, contrasting the trial courtโs earlier conclusion which had found the accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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“The evidence on record, as discussed and the arguments presented, do not align with the medical findings,” the court observed, leading to the acquittal of the accused who had appealed against the conviction and life sentence.
