23 July,2026 07:39 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
Thane court acquits accused after victim remains untraceable. Representational pic
A Thane court has acquitted a 40-year-old man and his female friend on charges of repeated rape, unnatural sex, and forced abortion.
The court, while acquitting the duo, cited that the prosecution failed to prove the charges, as the victim remained untraceable throughout the trial, news agency PTI reported.
Delivering the judgment on Wednesday, Additional Sessions Judge Premal S Vithalani acquitted Ravindrasingh alias Gaurav Balvantsingh Malhotra and Shweta Shamlal Singh (31), both residents of Mira Road, of all the charges under Sections 376(2)(n), 377, and 313 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According to the FIR lodged at Nayanagar police station in August 2015, the complainant, a native of Assam, alleged that Malhotra befriended her on Facebook in 2013 and subsequently established physical relations under the false promise of marriage.
She further alleged that when she became pregnant in November, Malhotra and Singh forcibly caused her miscarriage at a hospital in Mira Road without her consent.
On the charge of forced abortion, the court noted that the treating gynecologist explicitly testified that the complainant had approached the hospital voluntarily, stating she was newly married and jobless.
The doctor admitted that the victim gave consent for abortion freely and without pressure from anybody, the judge observed.The court also said that the victim had gone with accused Malhotra to a hotel 10 times after the abortion. Had the consent of the informant for miscarriage not been free, she would not have thereafter gone with accused Malhotra, the court said.
On the allegation of rape under the pretext of a false promise of marriage, Judge Vithalani noted the complete absence of substantive proof due to the victim not being traced.
The court then ordered the acquittal of both accused and also cancelled their bail bonds.
(With inputs from PTI)
