HC restrains rape accused from leaving Delhi

Justice V K Shali gave the order while admitting an appeal filed by the state against acquittal of accused Dushyant Verma, a Maharani Bagh resident.

The court also asked him to furnish a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of like amount to the court's registrar general (RG) and also directed him to surrender his passport.

The court also asked the accused not to intimidate the witnesses who had turned hostile in the case.

The court, however, allowed Verma to visit Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh from where he has been pursuing his LLB.

The bench's order came on the appeals of state as well as the rape victim against the trial court's October 24, 2011 verdict acquitting the man on the ground that there were contradiction in the woman's testimony.

In her plea, the victim said the trial court has ignored evidence as well as testimonies of prosecution witnesses including a lawyer, who had suggested her to lodge a case, and the doctor, who had examined her soon after the incident.

"The trial court while acquitting the accused for inexplicable reasons entirely disregarded the evidence of crucial witnesses who corroborate the story of prosecution," the victim's plea said.

"A perusal of the evidence would show that on the basis of the testimony of the prosecutrix, the guilt of the accused has been proved beyond reasonable doubt and there is sufficient corroborative evidence to conclude that the prosecution has proved the case beyond reasonable doubt," the victim said.

The trial court, however, had acquitted the accused saying "The testimony of the prosecutrix cannot be relied upon as she was deliberately evasive in her cross examination and her story was full of contradictions and highly improbable."

According to the prosecution, the accused had called the victim to his house on the pretext of lunch in April 2009 and had raped her.