Court acquits MSF constable in rape, cheating case filed by female colleague

A court in Maharashtra's Thane has acquitted a 34-year-old Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) constable in a 2020 case in which a female colleague had accused him of rape, forced abortion and cheating.

Additional Sessions Judge G T Pawar, in an order passed on August 28, held that the prosecution had failed to prove the accused's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court also noted contradictions in the complainant's statements and concluded that the physical relationship between the two was consensual and not based on a false promise of marriage.

According to the prosecution, the woman and the accused, Jadhav, were working as MSF constables at Ghatkopar Railway Station when they entered into a romantic relationship in 2018.

The complainant alleged that Jadhav repeatedly established physical relations with her on the promise of marriage, resulting in her pregnancy, which she claimed was terminated without her consent.

After learning that Jadhav had married another woman, she approached Mumbra police and lodged a complaint on March 4, 2020.

The case was registered under sections 376 (rape), 313 (causing miscarriage without the woman's consent), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The court observed that the complainant's own statement indicated that Jadhav had intended to marry her, while she had refused to marry him.

"From the statement of the informant, it is clearly established that the accused intended to marry her and she was refusing to marry him," the court said.

The court noted that the relationship had continued for more than one-and-a-half years. It observed that if the woman had believed the accused was having physical relations with her without consent, she could have approached the investigating agency earlier, particularly after learning that he was unwilling to marry her.

Instead, she continued the sexual relationship even after learning that Jadhav's marriage had been fixed with another woman, the court said, adding that this raised doubts about whether the relationship was non-consensual or based on a false promise of marriage.

The court also pointed out that a non-cognisable offence had been registered in January 2020 based on the woman's complaint, in which she had alleged abuse and threats to kill but had not accused Jadhav of rape.

"Hence, the statements of the victim are contradictory to each other and destroys her own version of rape on the pretext of marriage," the court said.

It held that the testimony of the complainant was not reliable and rejected the prosecution's contention that Jadhav had made a false promise of marriage.

"Thus, the contention that there was false promise of marriage by accused is unacceptable," the court added.