The district court acquitted the youth arrested for raping a minor in Chandigarh due to lack of evidence. Because the victim and father turned their statements. The court said that the accusing party could not prove that the girl was under 18 years of age. The court also said that only Aadhar card does not prove the date of birth of anyone.
The case is from Sector-31 police station area. Here a laborer had complained about the missing of his daughter on 16 May 2023. It was said in the complaint that his daughter, who studied in class VIII, left the house without informing. The laborer alleged that a youth named Vishal alias Ganju took her away by luring her with the promise of marriage.
After the complaint, the police recovered the girl and arrested the accused and registered a case against him under sections of rape and POCSO Act.
Victim and father turned their statements
During the hearing, the victim and her father turned their statements from the statements given earlier. The victim told the court that she had gone to her friend’s house in Hallomajra and stayed there, no one seduced her. The father also said that he had not made any allegations against the accused and neither had he named him in the complaint.
Court’s comment
The court said in its decision that the prosecution presented only the Aadhar card to prove the age of the victim, which is not considered a valid proof of date of birth. No concrete record of the time of admission in school was also given. Therefore, it was not proved that the girl was a minor at the time of the incident.
