The Delhi High Court has ruled that the absence of physical injuries in a medical report cannot be the sole ground to dismiss a minor girl’s allegations of assault and wrongful confinement, emphasizing the evidentiary value of her “explicit statement.”
Justice Girish Kathpalia, in a significant order dated July 18, directed a trial court to reconsider charges of assault and wrongful confinement against a man and his wife in a 2016 case filed by a minor girl who was working as a receptionist in their company.
The trial court had previously framed charges of rape and unnatural sex against the man, but discharged him and his wife from charges under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and Section 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code, citing lack of corroborative injuries in the girl’s medico-legal certificate (MLC).
However, the High Court found fault with that reasoning. “Merely because the MLC of the prosecutrix does not reflect injuries, the explicit statement of the prosecutrix that she was beaten up cannot be discarded,” Justice Kathpalia observed.
The lower court had noted that in her statement under Section 164 CrPC, the girl alleged being kicked in the abdomen and having her head struck against a wall, yet her MLC showed no visible injuries. The court concluded that there was no prima facie case for framing a charge under Section 323 IPC.
On the question of confinement, the trial court had dismissed charges under Section 342 IPC on the basis that the girl’s hands were not tied, thus failing to establish a case of wrongful confinement.
The High Court strongly disagreed. “For wrongful confinement, it is not necessary that the victim must be immobilised by tying his hands,” the bench stated. “Confinement within a room, as alleged in the present case, also would suffice to make out a prima facie case.”
Referring to the girl’s statement in the FIR that “mujhe apne ghar band rakha” (I was confined by him in his house), Justice Kathpalia said that such assertions require a proper trial and cannot be brushed aside at the stage of framing charges.
The High Court’s order reinstates charges under Sections 323 and 342 IPC, paving the way for a fuller examination of the allegations during trial proceedings.
