Rape survivor's testimony accepted when father is rapist: HC

A rape survivor's testimony can be accepted without corroboration, especially in a case where the rapist is her father, the Delhi High Court has observed.
The court's observation came during the hearing of an appeal by a man who has been held guilty of raping his 17- year-old daughter.
Justice Pratibha Rani upheld his 7-year jail term awarded by a trial court in November 2009 after holding him guilty of raping his daughter.
"While dealing with the case of rape wherein the offender is none else but the father, the version of the prosecutrix can be accepted without any corroboration. In the statement of the prosecutrix there are no material contradictions except about the date or the month.

"This court cannot ignore that she is illiterate and put her thumb impression on the complaint as well as on FIR. She being an illiterate person may not be able to give specific date and time or the month or the year," the court said.
The man had challenged his conviction, pointing out the the discrepancies in his daughter's testimony.

The court, however, refused to accept the assertions, noting that the discrepancies were minor and the complainant's testimony was largely reliable.
It noted that the evidence established that the girl was subjected to rape by her father.
"The medical evidence corroborated the testimony of the prosecutrix to the extent that her hymen was found ruptured. Minor contradictions or discrepancy appearing in her statement as pointed out by counsel for the appellant (man) cannot be treated a ground for disregarding otherwise reliable testimony which proved the prosecution case beyond reasonable doubt," the court noted.

As per the prosecution the man use to sexually abuse her daughter regularly after the death his wife in 2008 and also used to beat her on resistance.