Seven-year-old raped: HC orders kin to undergo scientific tests

Justice Pardiwala stated, “Rape causes the greatest distress and humiliation to the victim but at the same time a false allegation of rape can cause equal distress, humiliation and damage to the accused as well.” He arrived at the conclusion after going through the entire reports threadbare and ordered that the “first informant, her daughter and the mother of the victim, they all should be subjected to the three tests…” He has said that the investigating officer can take up this exercise as part of further probe by informing the trial court. The judgment states, “If any of the three offer any resistance in this regard, then the same by itself will be an indication of their guilty conscience. To level false allegations of sexual assault against any person is something very serious. Ultimately, if such allegations are found to be false, then there is no way in which the person against whom such false allegations are levelled can be compensated.”

An FIR was filed on November 2017 by a 45-year-old woman, alleging that her seven-year-old grand-daughter was raped by the head teacher of the municipal-run school. It was alleged that the teacher had “played mischief with other girl students also”. The accused was chargesheeted and sent to jail. Appearing for the accused, advocate Virat Popat said that it came to light in the recording of the statements that the girl was tutored by her grandmother. Popat said that the case was filed following a dispute over a school leaving certificate and the admission of the victim in the school. He argued that no other girl gave any statement hinting at the accused’s behavior as alleged by the victim and her family.

During the hearing in the HC, the accused accepted Justice Pardiwala’s suggestion to go for the scientific tests. The results prima facie created “grave doubt as regards the involvement of the accused”. While giving relief to the petitioner, Justice Pardiwala stated, “In any society, once such allegations are levelled, the entire image of that person as well as the family members of that person would get tarnished. People would start hating them. For no fault on the part of the other family members, they would have to pay a very heavy price. Keeping this in mind, I have suggested to subject the grandmother, her son and daughter-in-law  to the three tests.”