Farooqui rape trial: Feared Dec 16 repeat, so didn’t resist rape, woman tells court
Grover told Additional Sessions Judge Sanjiv Jain that the court has to look into the complainant’s conduct in a “cultural context” as she is a foreign national.
The US research scholar, who has accused filmmaker Mahmood Farooqui of rape, “did not resist” because she feared being killed like the victim of the December 16 gangrape, her counsel told a trial court Thursday. During the final arguments in the rape trial against Farooqui, the complainant’s counsel told the court that the research scholar knew that if she resisted, the “consequences would be worse”.
“She has stated before this court, during the recording of the evidence, that she was reminded of the documentary of the Nirbhaya case, where the rapist had said that if the victim had not struggled, she would have survived. The accused (Farooqui) applied force and pushed her down. She then froze. She knew if she resisted the rape upon her, the consequence would be worse,” argued advocate Vrinda Grover, counsel for the victim.
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Grover told Additional Sessions Judge Sanjiv Jain that the court has to look into the complainant’s conduct in a “cultural context” as she is a foreign national.
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“This court has to understand the victim’s conduct in a cultural context as she is a foreign national. She knows what is consensual and what is non-consensual. She has never denied if she has had a consensual kiss and has honestly stated that. However, only when she was forced and when it was non-consensual, she made a complaint. What she has stated before the police, before the magistrate and while recording the evidence has been consistent. She has not concealed any fact before this court,” said Grover. The woman’s counsel said the defence counsel’s argument — that the US research scholar was “of disturbed mind” — was “hazy and shaky”.
“She came on a scholarship. This is a special and a prestigious scholarship. The argument of the defence, of the victim being of disturbed mind, is a hazy and shaky defence,” she said.
Grover also told the court that the alleged sexual assault in this case was more serious as it was by “a trusted friend”. “Here is a woman who was sexually assaulted by a trusted friend. This is the nature of sexual assault. The amended law related to rape categorically stated if the sexual assault is committed by a person in a position of trust, the accused shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than 10 years but which may extend to life imprisonment. This shows that sexual assault by a trusted person is of serious nature,” the counsel argued.
HC asks trial court not to pass final judgment
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed the trial court, which is hearing the rape case against filmmaker Mahmood Farooqui, not to pronounce the final judgment till it disposes of an appeal by the complainant. The woman had challenged the trial court order which had rejected her plea for the recall of a prosecution witness. ENS
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
