Man acquitted in rape case after girl denies charge

A Delhi court has acquitted a man of the charge of raping a 19-year-old girl after she denied the allegation made against him and said that the complaint was filed by her uncle as he was unhappy with her marriage with the accused.
Additional Sessions Judge Rajneesh Kumar Gupta acquitted the man, a Uttar Pradesh resident, noting that the girl had deposed before the court that she had gone with the accused with her consent and both of them were now married.
"Prosecution witness 1 (girl) is the material witness of the case as she is the prosecutrix but she has denied the case of the prosecution," the court said.

It said the prosecution has failed to prove its case that the accused had committed penetrative sexual assault upon the prosecutrix and also threatened her. "Accordingly, the accused is acquitted of the charge," it said.
The court also rejected the claim of prosecution that the girl was a minor, saying she had deposed that she was 19-year-old.
According to the prosecution, the man had raped the girl in March this year and had also threatened to kill her.

An FIR was registered on the basis of the girl's statement and, thereafter the accused was arrested.
A charge sheet was filed against the man under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

He, however, had pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.