Gangrape, Murder Case: Bombay HC acquits man granted death penalty in 2012

In a shocking order issued by the Bombay High Court (HC), it has refused to uphold the conviction and death penalty granted to a man in the case of alleged gangrape of two women and the killing of one of them in 2012.

The prosecution has failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt and the testimony of the surviving victim could not be relied upon, said the court while upholding its conviction order.

According to reports, on November 25, a division bench of Justices Sadhana Jadhav and Prithviraj Chavan in its order issued acquitting Rahimuddin Mohfuz Shaikh.

On December 2, a copy of the order was made available, which also directed that he be released forthwith.

The bench in its order raised doubts on the survivor's testimony and said there was substance in the suggestions made by the accused that she used to indulge in prostitution. Moreover, the victims were not forced by the accused to accompany them and that they had consumed liquor with the accused without any hesitation.

In the Indian setting, refusal to act on the testimony of a victim of sexual assault in the absence of corroboration as a rule, is adding insult to the injury. However, in the present case, the facts, circumstances and evidence, the complicity of the accused itself is shrouded with doubts and suspicions.

The HC further said the survivor was taken to a psychiatrist where she claimed that she used to have depressive thoughts and had also tried to end her life in the past.

"Looking at the report of the psychiatrist coupled with the fact that the survivor was under the influence of liquor at the time of the incident, it would not be safe to accept her testimony as a truthful version of the incident in respect of the alleged assault by the accused," the judgment was noted by PTI.

For those unversed, in May 2012, the accused persons told the victims that they had arranged a job for them and took them to neighbouring Navi Mumbai where they consumed liquor. After this, the accused allegedly gangraped the women and assaulted them. While one of the victims died on the spot, the other managed to escape. Based on her statement, the police arrested the duo.