‘Family ties kept her silent’: Gauhati High Court upholds rape conviction of ‘uncle’

“On visualisation of the entire circumstances it is seen that the victim was girl undergone such a mental trauma that she tried to end her life…as she was not even in a position to tell anything about the incident even to her parents, who had cordial relationship with the accused and she also used the address the accused as uncle and her mother also used to treat the accused as her son,” the court said on August 28.

“So she had undergone the mental trauma, and for which she was keeping silent for about 3/4 days and finally had to take such a step to end her life…,” it added.

The court noted that she never dared to explain everything to her parents as to what had happened to her. The ruling pointed out that the question also arises as to why she would raise such an allegation against the accused when their families had maintained a cordial relationship, and there is no evidence that the allegation was made out of any previous grudge or enmity.

Justice Mitali Thakuria held that there was nothing to disbelieve the woman’s testimony.

Accused challenged conviction

The case arose from an incident dated 2021 when the woman attended the birthday celebration of the accused’s son. After the celebration, she went with the accused in his newly purchased car along with her cousin, the accused’s daughter and the driver.

According to the prosecution, while returning, the accused diverted the car to an isolated area and the driver left to make a purchase, when the accused allegedly followed the woman out of the car and sexually assaulted her. The woman’s cousin was inside the locked car with loud music playing and did not witness the actual assault, but later saw the victim crying.

After returning home, the woman remained silent, did not eat properly for days, and remained distressed. Later, she tried to end her life and was taken to a hospital where she disclosed the alleged rape to her parents. The family first approached church and village authorities before an FIR was lodged.

The accused was arrested and charged under Section 376 of the IPC. During the trial, the woman gave evidence before attempting to take her life again and succumbing.

The defence denied the allegations and argued that the victim’s testimony contained inconsistencies, that there was a delay in lodging the FIR, and that the medical examination found no injuries or evidence of recent sexual intercourse.

The trial court convicted the accused in June 2022, sentencing him to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and a Rs 10,000 fine. The accused then appealed against the conviction before the high court.

Family ties kept her mum: Order

The court held that there was nothing to disbelieve the woman’s testimony. Her evidence was supported by that of her cousin, parents and other witnesses, as well as the surrounding circumstances.

Although nobody directly witnessed the alleged crime, the court found that the cousin’s evidence regarding the accused holding the woman, her crying afterward, and the overall circumstances supported her account.

The court observed that the prosecution’s case could not be rejected just because the medical examination did not find injuries or signs of recent sexual intercourse. It considered the victim’s silence, mental trauma, close relationship with the accused’s family and her subsequent attempt to take her own life and said it explained why she had not immediately disclosed the incident or lodged an FIR.