A court in Thane district, Maharashtra, has acquitted a 26-year-old man accused of kidnapping and raping a teenage girl in 2018. The court noted that the physical relationship between the accused and the victim seemed to be consensual.

In an order dated September 21, Special Judge Ruby U. Malvankar, who handles cases under the POCSO Act, stated that the victim was not a child at the time of the incident, which meant that the offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act were not applicable.

The court stated that the prosecution failed to establish the charges against the accused, highlighting that he should be given the benefit of the doubt. A copy of the order was made available on Saturday.

The prosecution informed the court that on April 11, 2018, the victim, who was 17 at the time, went missing from her place of employment as a domestic worker in Thane district.

A police complaint was subsequently filed by the victim's father. The victim was located in a slum colony at Uttan in the Bhayander area of the district. Based on her statement, the police registered an FIR against the accused for kidnapping, rape, making threats, and under the provisions of the POCSO Act.

The accused's counsel contested the allegations. The court observed that while the victim claimed she was taken to a relative's house and raped multiple times, her testimony indicated a consensual relationship and a desire to marry the accused. The court noted that medical evidence confirmed sexual relations between the victim and the accused.

However, the court stated that the physical relations between them could not be deemed forcible or against the victim's wishes, emphasizing that she was a consenting party at the time. During cross-examination, the investigating officer acknowledged that his inquiry did not reveal any evidence of forcible kidnapping by the accused and admitted he did not record the statements of some key witnesses related to the incident.

Furthermore, one of the prosecution's witnesses was the victim's mother, whose testimony was primarily hearsay and thus did not carry significant weight in the case, the court concluded.

"The prosecution has failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused in any manner committed kidnapping of the victim. Even the victim does not appear to have offered any resistance as she was in love with the accused. The physical relations subsequently taken place between the victim and the accused also appear to be consensual," the court said.