SC dismisses plea against 'Peepli Live' director's acquittal in rape case

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the appeal filed against the acquittal of Peepli Live director Mahmood Farooqui in connection with an alleged rape case.

The apex court bench headed by Justice S A Bobde said that it was an extremely "well-decided case".

Bobde was hearing the plea by a US researcher challenging the Delhi High Court verdict.

Before the Delhi High Court acquittal, a fast-track trial court had found Farooqui guilty and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

In September 2017, the Delhi High Court acquitted Farooqui and set aside an earlier verdict of a trial court sentencing him to seven years in jail for allegedly raping a research scholar from the United States.

The trial court had also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him.

The US woman had told the police that she was assaulted by the filmmaker at his Sukhdev Vihar house in southern Delhi on March 28, 2015.

She had returned to the US after the incident, but later approached the Delhi Police through diplomatic channels and lodged a formal complaint on June 19 that year.