In his order of January 12, a copy of which was made available on Thursday, Additional Sessions Judge D S Deshmukh held that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt
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A court in Maharashtra's Thane has acquitted a 40-year-old man of charges involving repeated rape and criminal intimidation, highlighting several inconsistencies in the testimony of the complainant, reported news agency PTI.
In his order of January 12, a copy of which was made available on Thursday, Additional Sessions Judge D S Deshmukh held that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, reported PTI.
The complainant, a sister-in-law of the accused, had alleged that the man had exploited her financial vulnerability and her daughter's illness to repeatedly rape her between November 2014 and April 2015. She further claimed that the accused had threatened to kill her husband.
Judge Deshmukh pointed to the lack of "resistance" by the woman. "If she was scared of his threats and wanted to resist his sexual activities, she could have lodged a complaint immediately," he said, reported PTI.
It also said, "There is a money dispute as prosectrix (complainant) has admitted in her examination-in-chief that she has taken money from the accused from time to time for medical treatment of her daughter. Therefore, the defence taken by the accused on the dispute of money the present case was registered against him is acceptable," reported PTI.
After reviewing the evidence of six prosecution witnesses, including medical officers and investigating officers, the court concluded that the testimony of the woman did not "inspire confidence", dropping all charges against the accused.
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12 years on, Thane court acquits four in attempt to murder case
In another case, a court in Thane has cleared four men of the attempted murder and rioting charges after nearly 12 years, following the prosecution's failure to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, reported PTI.
The Additional Sessions Court in Thane passed the acquittal order on Monday.
The victim, Ganesh Gupta, was assaulted with sharp weapons on July 1, 2014, in Wagle Estate, Thane, over previous enmity, according to the prosecution, reported PTI.
The accused persons were booked on charges of attempted murder, rioting, and theft.
After hearing the submissions by the defence and prosecution and the testimony of seven witnesses, including the victim and the complainant, Judge A.S. Bhagwat found significant inconsistencies in the case, reported PTI.
The cross-examination disclosed that the complainant had not described the weapons or the clothing of the accused in his initial statement. Furthermore, the defence argued that the victim himself had criminal cases pending against him and that the allegations were politically motivated.
Defence counsels Adv. Hemlata Deshmukh and Adv. Raj Dalvi, appearing for the accused, punched holes in the prosecution.
"As the allegations against accused 1 to 4 are not proved, they are entitled to be acquitted in this case," the court stated, reported PTI.
All four accused, who were arrested in July 2014 and later released on bail, have now been cleared of all charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act.
(With inputs from PTI)
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