In connection with a rape complaint filed in 2016, a special court in Mumbai asked the minor rape survivor to return any compensation she might have received from the government, as she turned hostile and told the court that she did not know the accused and no such incident had taken place. The complaint was filed against two men in their early 20s following an allegation that the minor had been kidnapped by the duo, made to consume alcohol and raped by them.

Accordingly, two men were booked on charges of gang rape and kidnapping under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. They were behind bars for nearly five years. But, last week, the special court acquitted them. It also asked the minor to return any compensation she got from the government. The court, in its order, stated that it was not clear whether the survivor received any ex-gratia monetary aid from the state.