Delhi court acquits man of rape charge as woman lodged complaint after 3 months

A Delhi court has acquitted a man of the charge of allegedly raping his maid on the grounds that the victim "contacted the police after three months" and she continued working there even after the incident.

The court noted that after lodging of the FIR, when she was medically examined by the doctors, she did not name her employer as the assaulter.

"No lady, who had been raped recently by the employer, would again join him because it would send a clear signal to the employer that she was ready and willing in that kind of activity. Such return would definitely make believe an employer that the girl was desirous of indulging in sexual activities with him," Additional Sessions Judge Umed Singh Grewal said.

The court said the woman, who was allegedly raped in 2010, did not disclose the incident to any of her acquaintances for a long time nor did she lodge an FIR for three months.

Besides saying that there was "no explanation for the delay", the court also observed that the woman, who had continued working in the same house after the incident, did not fall in the category of 'sterling quality' evidence.

The woman had again joined the duty after one or two days.

According to the complaint, the victim started working as a maid in a house in Rohini in November 2009. She was employed through placement agency 'Domestic Help Services'.

The woman alleged in her complaint that after five or six days, she was allegedly raped by her employer's father.

The victim ran away from their home on March 14, 2010 and told her relatives about the incident after which the accused was arrested on March 16 that year and subsequently an FIR was lodged.

However, according to the man, the woman had left the house on March 14 without any prior information and later, he was demanded Rs 5 lakhs for not being implicated in a false case.

The court noted that the woman had sufficient opportunity to complain but she kept mum.

"This kind of cross examination shows that she had sufficient opportunity to complain not only to placement agency persons but also to the police that she had been raped. She had stepped out of the house of the accused several times. But she kept mum not only to placement agency persons but also to the police that she had been raped. She had stepped out of the house of the accused several times. But she kept mum," the court noted.