Thane district court in Maharashtra has acquitted a man who was accused of raping a 16-year-old girl, citing the prosecution’s failure to prove the charges.
Special Judge D S Deshmukh stated that the prosecution couldn’t establish the charges under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Special Public Prosecutor Varsha Chandane informed the court that on March 22, 2018, the Class 10 student left her house, claiming to meet friends at school but did not return.
The girl and the accused came to the police station six days later and she told the police that the accused had raped her.
The judge noted that the prosecutor declared the girl’s mother as a hostile witness, stating that they (the girl and the accused) had settled the matter out of court, and the accused was planning to marry her daughter.
