After Years in Jail, Two Men Acquitted of Rape Charges

Two brothers were accused of raping their niece. The SC decided that the evidence was artificial and concocted.

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Convicted for raping a minor in 2001, two men after spending years in jail were acquitted by the Supreme Court on 21 August stating ‘false charges’ against them, reported The Times of India.

A bench comprising Justice NV Ramana and Mohan M Shantanagoudar acquitted the two after one of them appealed to the apex court against the concurrent judgments of a Faridabad trial court and the Punjab and Haryana High court that convicted them.

The Incident

On 22 August 2001, Jai Singh and Sham Singh, two brothers from Faridabad, were accused of raping their niece in the presence of their family, reported The Times of India.

A case was registered but the two were acquitted in 2003. The men at the time had told the trial court that they slapped the minor after finding out about her affair with another boy. After the incident, they said they had also written her an apology through the sarpanch.

Disatified with the 2003 judgment, the girl moved the High Court and fresh trials were conducted. The two men were then convicted in June 2011. At that time, Jai Singh had completed his jail term, whereas Sham Singh had completed seven years out of the ten years of jail imposed on him.

Supreme Court’s Acquittal

As reported by The Times of India, the Supreme Court after going through the plea said that the evidences of the victim/prosecutrix and the girl’s aunt were unreliable and untrustworthy as they did not match as credible witnesses.

Justice M Shantanagoudar in his statement said that the evidence against the two were ‘artificial’ and ‘concocted.’

The findings of the court below do not deserve the merit of acceptance or approval in our hands with regards to glaring infirmities and illegalities vitiating them.

Justice M Shantanagoudar

(With inputs from The Times of India)