40 years later, Allahabad high court overturns gang rape conviction over evidentiary gaps in 1983 case

NEW DELHI: The Allahabad high court has acquitted three men convicted in a 1983 gang rape case involving a seven-month pregnant woman, holding that the prosecution failed to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubt due to lack of medical evidence, inconsistencies in witness testimonies and a vague FIR, as per a report by LiveLaw.Justice Avnish Saxena set aside the May 1984 judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge, Mathura, that had sentenced all three accused to seven years of imprisonment under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).The case related to an incident on May 9, 1983, in which a seven-month pregnant Scheduled Caste woman alleged that four men, including an unknown driver, had sexually assaulted her at knifepoint for nearly an hour inside her home while her husband was away grazing goats.

Upon returning, the husband found the house bolted from inside, and upon jumping the boundary wall, allegedly saw the accused fleeing.The high court noted that the FIR itself raised doubts as it named only three accused despite allegations that four persons had raped the victim. The FIR was lodged on May 14, 1983, five days after the alleged incident. While the prosecution attributed the delay to the informant's fear of the accused, noting that his was the only Scheduled Caste family in the village, the bench found this explanation unconvincing, given the other inconsistencies in the prosecution's case.

"...prosecution evidence is not creating confidence that the accused/appellants have committed rape...they shall be acquitted from the charges as the ocular and documentary evidences does not evinces the involvement of accused appellant in the offence of rape in view of the evidences adduced by the prosecution", the bench observed, as quoted by LiveLaw.A major factor in the acquittal was the absence of supporting medical evidence.

The medico-legal report, conducted five days after the alleged incident, showed no marks of injury on the victim's body or private parts. The pathological report confirmed she was seven months pregnant with a normal pregnancy, and no sperm was detected. The court also noted that no doctor was examined during the trial. Significantly, the bench observed that if a seven-month pregnant woman had been subjected to gang rape for nearly an hour by four men, it would likely have caused a "grave medical exigency" — which was not reflected in the medical records at all.The court clarified that while medical injuries are not mandatory to prove rape, the absence of corroborative medical evidence becomes significant when the prosecution story itself suffers from serious inconsistencies. The bench also dismissed the victim's claim that her hands bled from broken bangles during the assault, noting that no broken bangles were recovered by the investigating officer and no such injuries were recorded by the doctor.The court concluded that the ocular and documentary evidence together failed to inspire confidence regarding the involvement of the accused, and accordingly allowed the appeal, acquitting all three men.