SRINAGAR: A court here has acquitted six accused individuals, four of whom were charged with selling a neonate, while the other two, a childless couple, were accused of purchasing the male infant for Rs 70,000 in 2018.
The defense counsel for the accused argued that there is no evidence on record to suggest the commission of any offense, let alone the offense for which the charge-sheet was filed against them. The counsel further contended that the prosecution’s evidence is insufficient to proceed with the case against the accused.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Srinagar, Jawad Ahmad, upon reviewing the prosecution’s evidence, determined that there is no clear indication of the offense under Section 370 RPC (trafficking of a person) for which the accused were charged on December 3, 2018. The court also found no other grounds to proceed against the accused individuals.
“The accused individuals are discharged in this case. They shall be relieved of their bail and personal bonds,” the court stated, following arguments by defense counsel, including advocate Mohammed Abdullah Pandith for four of the accused and advocate Mustahsan Mattu for the childless couple.
The counsel for the childless couple argued that the child will inevitably become aware of the circumstances surrounding the case and the fact that he is with the alleged accused couple, who are providing excellent care as they are themselves unable to have children. The counsel contended that once the child becomes aware of these circumstances, it could have a detrimental effect on his emotional well-being, causing confusion, identity issues, a sense of betrayal, and impacting his self-esteem.
According to the prosecution, a woman gave birth to a male baby in a private hospital in this city and, along with her husband, sold the neonate to the childless couple from Jammu through an intermediary woman and a security guard at a government hospital, all for a consideration of Rs 70,000. Of the total amount, the prosecution claimed that Rs 5,000 were retained by the intermediaries (the intermediary woman and the security guard), with the remainder going to the woman and her husband. (GNS)
