Man acquitted of sexual harassment charges after 11 years

A Delhi court has acquitted a man of charges of sexually harassing and criminal intimidating a woman and her two daughters in March 2005, saying police miserably failed to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Metropolitan Magistrate Pooja Aggarwal passed the order acquitting the South Delhi resident, saying he was entitled to be given the benefit of doubt.
"The prosecution has miserably failed to discharge the onus cast upon it in view of the various contradictions, improvements and variations in testimony of the eye witnesses brought forth and hence the prosecution has not been able to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, the accused is entitled to be given the benefit of doubt," the judge said.

The court observed that the prosecution was not able to provide corroborative evidence to prove the offence of sexual harassment.
The judge also noted that the complainant herself had made certain improvements in her statement during the cross- examination.
In its order, the court said "the veracity of the oral testimony of the eyewitnesses has been impeached."

According to the prosecution, the complainant, her mother and her sister were waylaid, abused by the accused and his friends, which led to a quarrel resulting in injuries to the complainant and her family members.
The charge sheet was filed on February 2, 2010.

The prosecution said the accused threatened the complainants that he would kill them but court dismissed it saying "the witnesses were conspicuously silent as to any threat being extended by any of the accused".
The accused, however, had denied the allegations made against him and claimed innocence.