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Ved Pal & Anr. vs. State of Haryana

Criminal Appeal · 2023 INSC 1039Decided 29 Nov 2023
Criminal Appeal No. 1205 of 2021
B.R. Gavai · Pamidighanthem Sri Narasimha

Background

The two appellants were convicted by a trial court in Haryana of gang rape and wrongful confinement of a minor prosecutrix and sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment; the Punjab and Haryana High Court affirmed the conviction. The prosecution's case was that the accused dragged the girl from her home at night to a nearby house and raped her, after which she raised an alarm and was rescued by her mother and cousin. The defence argued there were material contradictions in the evidence, no supporting medical or forensic findings, and pointed to a pre-existing civil dispute between the families.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found several weaknesses undermining the prosecution's case: the medical examination found no injuries on the prosecutrix despite the alleged struggle and forcible dragging past several houses without anyone hearing cries, and the forensic report found no semen on the prosecutrix's clothes or vaginal swab (semen was instead found on one accused's underwear, which is not conclusive of rape). The Court also noted the accused's plausible explanation of a prior family dispute, and letters exchanged between the prosecutrix and one accused that contradicted her claim of no prior contact. Weighing the evidence as a whole, the Court held the prosecution had failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, gave the accused the benefit of the doubt, quashed the conviction, and ordered their release.

Lesson Learnt

Even in serious offences like rape, the prosecution must prove its case beyond reasonable doubt on the totality of evidence: the sole testimony of a victim can support a conviction if wholly reliable, but unexplained inconsistencies with medical and forensic evidence can create genuine doubt that benefits the accused.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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