Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 11 : The Allahabad High Court has upheld the conviction of a man in a rape case dating back to 1985 in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district while reducing his eight-year prison sentence to the period already undergone, noting that he has spent approximately seven years in jail.
Justice Tej Pratap Tiwari passed the order while partly allowing an appeal filed by the accused, Habib, who had challenged his conviction in the case.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place on October 26, 1985, when the nine-year-old victim had gone to a field to pluck mustard leaves. It was alleged that Habib, a fellow villager, forcibly took her near the boundary of the field and raped her.
The prosecution said villagers rushed to the spot after hearing the victim's cries, following which the accused fled. Bloodstains were later found on the victim's clothes, and a case was registered by the police.
A medical examination conducted after the incident revealed a torn hymen along with signs of fresh injury and bleeding. However, the supplementary medical report did not provide a conclusive opinion regarding rape.
During the hearing of the appeal, the accused argued that there were contradictions in the victim's statement, no external injuries were found on her body, and the seized clothes and soil samples were not subjected to forensic examination. On these grounds, the defence sought the benefit of doubt.
The State government opposed the plea, contending that minor contradictions did not weaken the prosecution's case. It argued that the victim's testimony was corroborated by medical evidence and that lapses in investigation could not by themselves invalidate the prosecution's case.
In its judgment, the High Court observed that external injuries are not essential in every rape case and that the absence of a forensic report could not be a ground to discard the entire prosecution case.
The court held that the evidence available on record was sufficient to sustain the conviction of the accused.
However, considering that Habib had already undergone approximately seven years of imprisonment out of the total eight-year sentence and taking note of his present age, the court modified the sentence to the period already served.