‘She left her home voluntarily’: Why Gujarat High Court quashed a 12-year-old kidnapping case
The Gujarat High Court noted that the ‘kidnapped’ girl was 17 years and 10 months old at the time of the alleged incident and that there was no evidence to show the accused had ‘enticed’ her away from her guardians.
he Gujarat High Court has refused to disturb the acquittals in two 2002 riot cases. Dismissing appeals filed nearly 20 years ago, the court ruled that the evidence provided was insufficient to overturn the original judgments. (File Photo)
The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday discharged a man in a kidnapping case, holding that the alleged victim, at the verge of turning 18, had left her parental home “voluntarily” and the trial against the man accused of “enticing” her away from her lawful guardians was “nothing but a sheer waste of judicial time.”
Justice H D Suthar pronounced the judgment in a criminal revision application filed by a Junagadh resident, ruling that “no prima facie offence is made out”. The man had challenged an August 24, 2017, order of the Ahmedabad (rural) sessions court, which had rejected his discharge application in a 2014 case, where he was booked under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 366 (kidnapping a woman to compel her marriage) of the Indian Penal Code.
As per the prosecution’s case, after the girl went missing, the family tried to contact her. The applicant allegedly answered the phone, leading to suspicion that she had been abducted. The applicant submitted to the high court that the girl had left home of her own will.
The court said in its judgment, “Perusing the record, it appears that the age of victim at the time of incident was 17 years and 10 months meaning thereby the victim was at the verge of attaining the age of majority and perusing the statement of victim before police, it clearly transpires that the victim had stated that after passing her Std. IX examination, the victim went to Junagadh and there she came in contact with the accused… (fell) in love… and due to such a relationship, the victim on her own voluntarily left her parental home…”.
The court emphasised that discharge in criminal jurisprudence is a “constitutional safeguard” to ensure that an accused is not compelled to undergo criminal trial unless the “prosecution first meets the minimal judicially recognisable threshold of a prima facie case”, where the charge is “groundless,” observing that “once offence is not made out… it is the duty of the court to see to it that the applicant is not put to any harassment”.
Citing precedents to note that the girl had been in contact with the accused and voluntarily accompanied him, the judgment states, “…such trial is nothing but sheer wastage of judicial time and it is unjust to continue the prosecution against such an accused…there was no evidence showing that the accused had ‘taken’ or ‘enticed’ her away from lawful guardianship, which is a key ingredient for establishing kidnapping…”.
The high court allowed the revision application and quashed the sessions court’s order rejecting discharge.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
