SRINAGAR: More than two decades after a woman in Poonch accused two Special Police Officers (SPOs) of raping her during a night search operation, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has upheld the acquittal of the accused, bringing legal closure to the long-pending case. The development was first reported by ETV Bharat.
In a 13-page judgment, a division bench of Justice Sindhu Sharma and Justice Shahzad Azeem dismissed the criminal acquittal appeal filed by the State and ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. The court affirmed the earlier verdict of the Sessions Court, Poonch, which had acquitted the two accused, Mohammad Farooq and Noor Hussain, who were booked under Section 376 (rape) read with Section 34 (common intention) of the erstwhile Ranbir Penal Code.
“The learned trial Court had rightly held the prosecution case as not proved against the accused and these findings being plausible, therefore, no interference is called for,” the bench observed while rejecting the appeal.
The case dates back to April 2003 when the woman lodged a written complaint alleging that during the intervening night of April 21 and 22, two SPOs entered her house in Surankote during a search operation. She claimed they identified themselves to her son and then subjected her to forcible sexual intercourse at gunpoint in the presence of her children. Another SPO colleague was allegedly stationed outside and refused to participate.
Following the complaint, an FIR (No. 43/2003) was registered at Police Station Surankote and the accused were charge-sheeted after investigation.
However, by the time the matter reached trial, the complainant had died of causes unrelated to the case. The High Court noted that her death significantly weakened the prosecution’s case, as neither her police statement nor her written complaint could be treated as admissible evidence.
“Neither statement of the complainant recorded by the Police nor the complaint dated April 22, 2003 lodged by her on the basis of which the investigation commenced are admissible in evidence,” the court said, adding that it had to rely solely on the remaining witnesses.
The prosecution examined 10 out of 11 listed witnesses, but several key testimonies did not hold up in court. One of the principal witnesses, SPO Nizaar Hussain Shah, who was allegedly present during the search, turned hostile and denied entering the complainant’s house or witnessing any incident.
The bench noted that Shah “specifically pleaded ignorance about the forced entry of the accused” and categorically denied having seen any occurrence inside the house.
The testimonies of the complainant’s daughter and niece were also found inconsistent. The court observed that their statements contained contradictions and “material improvements,” particularly regarding allegations of physical violence preceding the alleged assault, which eroded their credibility.
Medical evidence too did not corroborate the allegations. The examining doctor testified that there were no visible injuries or bite marks and “no marks of violence particularly on the face of the victim.”
The court also flagged the prosecution’s failure to examine the complainant’s son, who was said to have opened the door for the accused personnel, calling him an important witness whose absence remained unexplained.
Reiterating established principles of criminal law, the bench underlined that appellate courts must exercise caution while overturning acquittals.
“In a case of acquittal, there is double presumption in favour of the accused,” the judgment stated, explaining that once a trial court acquits an accused, the presumption of innocence is further strengthened.
It added that if two reasonable views are possible based on the evidence, the appellate court should not disturb the acquittal.
Finding no perversity or illegality in the Sessions Court’s reasoning, the High Court concluded that the trial court had assessed the evidence correctly and dismissed the State’s appeal as “devoid of merit,” effectively bringing the 22-year-old case to a close.
