The Allahabad High Court recently acquitted a man accused in a case of rape bid and murder of a 100-year-old woman. The court said it could not be denied that the deceased woman’s grandson might have filed the case to obtain compensation from the government, given their Scheduled Caste status.
The complaint in the case was lodged by the victim’s grandson, who identified himself as a member of the Scheduled Caste community. He reported that on October 29, 2017, while his 100-year-old grandmother was resting on her cot on the house’s veranda, he and his wife were inside a room. At around 11.30 pm, they allegedly heard the grandmother crying. When they came out to check on her, they allegedly discovered the accused, who was heavily intoxicated, lying on top of the grandmother and attempting to sexually assault her.
The grandson attempted to apprehend the accused, but he fled the scene. Following this, the grandson and his wife rushed the grandmother to the hospital.
An FIR was filed at 1.45 am on October 30, 2017, under Sections 458 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3(2)(5) of the SC/ST Act. Although the victim was medically examined, she passed away around 3 am the same night. Consequently, after the investigation, the chargesheet was filed against the accused under Sections 458, 376, 302, and 506 of the IPC and Section 3(2)(5) of the SC/ST Act.
In November 2020, the trial court held the accused guilty of rape and murder and sentenced him to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and life imprisonment for the offences respectively.
In the appeal against the conviction, the counsel for the accused argued before the high court that the accused had been wrongfully implicated. He contended that the informant had borrowed Rs 1 lakh from the accused, which he was unwilling to repay. To avoid returning the money and to seek financial assistance from the government, the informant fabricated a story about his grandmother’s rape, he alleged.
The counsel further claimed that by filing this false case, the informant gained dual advantages. Not only did he avoid repaying the borrowed sum, but he also received monetary compensation from the government, as the victim belonged to a Scheduled Caste community, he apprised the court.
The division bench, comprising Justices Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Dr Gautam Chowdhary, observed that the trial court had noted in its judgment that there was no penetration, only an attempt had been made, thus, the absence of the accused’s semen was irrelevant. The trial court had also noted that since the elderly woman had died from the shock of the attempted rape, the accused could be held responsible for her murder as well.
The high court highlighted the absence of any recovery of the accused’s clothes from the crime scene, especially given the witness’ statement that he had fled naked, and the lack of independent witnesses. Moreover, it pointed out that no injury was found on the genitals of the victim. Therefore, the HC held that the allegation of rape was not proven.
Apart from that, the high court noted that in medical examination, the cause of the deceased’s death was recorded as septicaemia shock, and no evidence was placed on record to show that the deceased had been killed.
“In such a situation, this theory gets support that perhaps the sexual offence and murder charges were filed just to get money from the government,” the bench opined.
Moreover, the court held that no caste-based crimes were committed in the present case, hence, the charges under the SC/ST Act were also unfounded.
Accordingly, the division bench acquitted the accused of all the charges and ordered him to be set free.
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