31.12.11

DNA

Penetration must for rape conviction: Bombay HC

A man can be convicted for rape only if there is penetration, the Bombay high court observed on Friday as it set aside the sentence of a 37-year-old who was charged with raping the daughter of his stepsister in May 2006.

Satish Shinde, who was arrested in December 2006, will now walk free from prison after having served five-and-a-half years of his seven-year rigorous imprisonment, handed out to him by a sessions court on November 26, 2007.

Shinde had approached the HC challenging the order of the sessions court.

The prosecution told the HC that the girl, who lives in Korphale village in Solapur, was slapped by her mother on May 2, 2006. The upset girl called up Shinde, her mother’s stepbrother, who said he would pick her up from a bus stop junction and drop her to her maternal uncle’s house in Dhorle. The prosecution alleged that Shinde raped her on the way.

Ujwal Agandsurve, Shinde’s advocate, argued that the girl’s evidence was unreliable. The medical evidence showed there was no penetration at all. Also, the chemical analyser’s report showed that no traces of semen were found on the clothes which the girl wore on that day.

Agandsurve pointed out to the court that the girl’s uncle was not examined. Also, the aunt turned hostile and did not support the prosecution before the trial court.

Acquitting Shinde, the court observed: “As such, there are serious doubts about the genuineness of the prosecution’s case. It is highly risky to rely upon the evidence of the girl in view of the other evidence brought on record