In a case of delayed justice, the Bombay High Court last week acquitted a man charged with raping a woman at Kurla station in 2009. The man, who completed his seven-year jail term, pleaded with the HC, after coming out of prison, to decide his appeal challenging the conviction on merit.
Justice Abhay Thipsay acquitted Gopal alias Gopi Ramdev Shetye, observing, "In my opinion, this was a case where the identity of the appellant as the culprit had not been satisfactorily established. There was indeed a real and substantial doubt..."
As per the prosecution's case, the victim, who hailed from Aurangabad, on July 19, 2009, had gone to Ghatkopar station and had been sleeping on the overbridge. Shetye had woken her up, said he loves her and then raped her. He was arrested on July 29, 2009.
During the trial the prosecution examined five witnesses and, based on their testimony, Shetye was convicted in 2010. He was denied bail all the time.
Advocate RL Majgaonkar argued before court that the victim did not know Shetye and that there was nothing incriminating found on his clothes in the chemical analysis report. The case was solely based on victim's testimony, which is unreliable, he added.
The judge, after considering the evidence, noted, "In my opinion, the social status of the victim and her position was such so as to render her susceptible to the suggestions from the investigating agency. It was not safe to base the conviction of the appellant on such evidence."
The court also took into consideration that no serious effort to find out the truth or to collect evidence was undertaken and available CCTV footage was not produced. "This factor creates a further doubt about the correctness of their identification of the appellant as the culprit," it added.
The court said the victim had learnt that the name of the culprit was Gopi and had told this to the police. "The appellant being the same accused appears to have been a theory introduced by the investigating agency. There is absolutely no material to indicate that the accused was know as Gopi..." the HC said, acquitting Shetye and directing the authorities to return the fine amount of Rs400, if paid by him.
