In judgement delivered on 1st of April, 2023 in regards to the case, State of Maharashtra vs Mehaboob Babu Malik Khan and Anr the court concluded that due to several loopholes in the narration of the story by the victim and lack of validity as well as authenticity, all the accused stand acquitted.
The accused Mehaboob Babu Malik Khan, Moham+med Muzammil Mohammed Tanvir Shaikh, Wasim Ahmed Jalil Ahmed Ansari and Nadim Mohammed Sarfaraj Shaikh were charged for the offences punishable under sections 323, 342, 366, 377, 506(2) r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860(IPC).
In march of the year 2016, the four men were accused of gangraping and having unnatural intercourse with the victim.
According to the victim’s side of the story she was serving as a maid at a house in Malad (west), it was her employer’s child’s birthday due to which she had to stay and work till late hours. It was around 01:30 in the morning on 02.03.16 when she proceeded to leave the house of the employer, she soon found a rickshaw, which after crossing half of the way the driver refused to go any further claiming that the route is not known to him, the victim then paid the fare and left the rickshaw. When she reached Jarimari Sakinaka and was about to take another auto, when two people came from the behind and forcibly took her to a room, where she was beaten and threatened, after which she was raped, this episode continued for about an hour and a half. She was recued by people who could hear her screams and the police was called. The cops were able to arrest four people on the same day between 02:30pm to 04:30pm. All the concerned examinations were held thereafter.
However, during the cross-examination, in the defense of the accused it was stated that the victim was a prostitute and had been hired by the accused but later there were payment related disputes between the two and the victim lodged a false case against the four men.
In the argument by the defense lawyer Ld. Advocate Mr. Wahab Khan pointed out that during the cross examination the victim was shown the four arrested accused, hence there remains no value of conducting the identification parade, since it is now not of any reliability. Later he went on to state that the investigation officer had concerns regarding the two girls who were the witnesses also and the victim because they were not disclosing their identity and residential address and therefore had to be kept in Mahila Sudhar Ghar, Chembur. These conditions lead to creating suspicion.
Further the Ld Advocate for the defense, submitted that 80% of the victim’s story of her being a maid and having to work till late hours for the birthday of her employer’s child, due to which she left at 01:30am and took a rickshaw proved to be a lie. And therefore, the remaining statements of the victim should not be trusted, hence her entire evidence needs to be repudiated.
The statement of the victim recorded by the Metropolitan Magistrate under section 164 of Cr.P.C. confirms that the victim had called one madam who asked her to go to one room around 3:00 am in the morning, after which she sat in an auto with two boys who took her to a room where she saw five people and told them that she wants to go back but she was threatened by a knife. She screamed but no one showed up after this her madam sent two girls and that is when the police were informed.
The statement by the witnesses recorded by Metropolitan Magistrate under section 164 of Cr.P.C. (Exh. 204 and 205) states that the victim had to go with one boy but instead there were six people. They forced themselves on her, after which the victim called the witnesses on the phone and they contacted the police thereafter.
These statements demolished the story portrayed by the prosecution.
It was concluded by the session court that even though if a woman is a prostitute, one can absolutely not indulge into sexual intercourse with her without her consent. But keeping in mind that no medical examination supported the victim’s allegations of physical assault, discrepancies in regards to the identification parade and the contradictions as well as the inconsistency in the statement in the first information before the court and before the Metropolitan Magistrate.
Court believed that the victim was not trustworthy and reliable and hence the order was passed which stated that all the four accused stand acquitted.
NAME- PRANJAL JHA, COLLEGE- AMITY LAW SCHOOL NOIDA, SEMESTER- 2ND
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