'Charge Has No Legs To Stand On; Prosecution Story Concocted': SC Sets Aside Youth's Rape Conviction

Last Updated:July 18, 2025, 19:16 IST

The court acquitted the man of all charges on finding that the couple were in a consensual relationship and had eloped on their own volition

The SC did not find any evidence that could suggest that the appellant, Birka Shiva, kidnapped the girl from lawful guardianship or confined her for approximately two months, against her volition, in a house in Hyderabad or had sexual intercourse with the girl against her will or without her consent. (File image/AFP)

The Supreme Court on July 16 set aside the conviction of a young man accused of kidnapping his friend’s sister, unlawfully confining her, and repeatedly raping her over a period of time.

The court found the birth certificate produced by the prosecution remained uncorroborated, and the absence of consent, sine qua non to prove the charge, was not met with evidence.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta did not find any evidence that could suggest that the appellant, Birka Shiva, kidnapped the girl from lawful guardianship or confined her for approximately two months, against her volition, in a house in Hyderabad or had sexual intercourse with the girl against her will or without her consent.

“Well, suffice it to say, courts of law cannot make a determination of guilt in thin air, based on estimations," the bench said.

The judges held that the entire prosecution story had been concocted for reasons best known to it.

The court also held that the proof submitted by the prosecution in the form of a birth certificate issued by the school was not sufficient to arrive at a finding that the girl was less than sixteen/eighteen years of age, especially when it was not sufficiently corroborated.

“Therefore, it was neither safe nor fair to convict the appellant based on it, particularly in the context where the age of the victim was such a pivotal factor," the bench said.

An FIR was registered on August 8, 2012, by the mother of the girl with Police Station Godavarikhani-II Town, District Karimnagar, alleging that the appellant had lured and induced the girl and taken her away to some unknown place by taking advantage of her innocence.

On October 12, 2012, when the appellant sustained injuries in a motorcycle accident, he was admitted to the hospital at Karimnagar. At that time, the girl came to her mother and narrated the ordeal to her family.

The trial court held the appellant guilty and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment for rape, five years for kidnapping, and six months for wrongful confinement.

The high court, upon his appeal, reduced the maximum sentence from seven to two years’ jail term, while upholding the conviction.

However, when the matter reached before it, the apex court observed, “it is trite law that a conviction for rape can be sustained solely on the testimony of the prosecutrix/victim, provided that her evidence inspires confidence in the mind of the court and appears to be natural and truthful. However, if the version given by the prosecutrix is inconsistent, unsupported by any medical evidence, or the whole surrounding circumstances are highly improbable and believable in the case set up by the prosecutrix, the court shall not act on the solitary evidence of the prosecutrix."

“In the present case, we find that this charge has no legs to stand on, for she only makes a positive statement about the occurrence of sexual intercourse and does not even in the slightest imply the same to be against her will. The absence of consent is the sine qua non to sustain a charge under Section 376. That cannot, in our opinion, be met as per the evidence on record," the bench opined.

Salil Tiwari

Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr...Read More

Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr...

Read More

Location :

First Published:

News india 'Charge Has No Legs To Stand On; Prosecution Story Concocted': SC Sets Aside Youth's Rape Conviction