Court convicts man of raping his niece in 2017

A court here has convicted a man of kidnapping and repeatedly raping his 17-year-old niece, saying prosecutors established the charges based on the victim’s “impeccable” testimony.

Additional Sessions Judge Susheel Bala Dagar heard the case against the man accused of luring the victim to accompany him to another city where he repeatedly raped her over four months in 2017.

Prosecutor Yogita Kaushik Dahiya said the victim was kidnapped by the accused and forced into illicit sexual intercourse.

“The victim child’s testimony has remained clear and consistent throughout.” “Based on her impeccable, consistent and credible testimony, the prosecution has identified the essential elements necessary to prove the allegations against the defendant,” it said it in a recent judgment of the court.

Citing several judicial precedents, the court explained that if the victim’s testimony was clear, convincing, and trustworthy, her sole statement alone proved guilt.

“The victim has stood firm throughout and clearly stated how the incident of aggravated sexual assault was committed by the accused after she seduced her,” it said.

The court rejected defense counsel’s arguments about some “enhancements” in the victim’s statement, saying she had categorically stated that she never consented to a physical relationship.

It convicted the accused under the criminal provisions for kidnapping and rape and under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO).

Sentencing arguments will be heard later.

The court noted that according to the victim’s statement, the accused fraudulently took her out of Delhi by luring her and telling her that “he is her husband”.

“It is a settled law that consent obtained through deception is not consent and in the present case it is evident that the consent of the prosecutrix was obtained through fraud and she was misled into believing that he was her husband,” it said .

The court noted the victim’s statement that the defendant did not perform a marriage ceremony and instead kept her in a rented house where he repeatedly and violently developed physical relations with her.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)