New Delhi: A youth accused of kidnapping and
inducing a girl to marry him has been acquitted by a Delhi court after she confessed that she willfully eloped to live with him as husband and wife four years ago.
Additional Session Judge (ASJ) Madhu Jain set free the
youth, a resident of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, after the
prosecution failed to establish that the girl was minor at the
time of incident and the accused kidnapped her to marry
against her will.
"In her statement under section 164 CrPc, she (girl) has
given her age more that 18 years. She has stated that she
herself went with the accused willingly and she does not want
to go to her parents house.
"Thus, doubt is created in the mind ... regarding the age
of the prosecutrix, whether she was actually less than 18
years of age at the date of the offence. The prosecutrix...has
stated that she herself went with the accused and lived with
him as husband and wife," the ASJ said while acquitting a boy.
The prosecution had alleged that in November, 2008, the
girl was kidnapped from Garhi in South Delhi from the lawful
guardianship of her father with an intention to compel her for
marriage.
The court observed that since the girl herself has not
supported the case of the prosecution, it is futile to further
prolong the litigation by examining the other witnesses.
The charge under section 366 (kidnapping, abducting or
inducing woman to compel her marriage) and 363 (punishment for
kidnapping) of the IPC were framed against the boy, to which
he pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.
After four years of trial, the court acquitted the youth
observing that the prosecution has failed to prove that the
girl was less than 16 years of age on the date of offence or
the accused has kidnapped her to marry forcefully.
"The accused, is therefore, acquitted of the offence
under section 363/366 of IPC," the court said.
PTI
