Thane, Dec 2 (PTI) A Thane court has discharged a 40-year-old man charged with raping a minor girl in 2007, giving him the benefit of doubt and noting that both the accused and the victim were currently untraceable.
There was no purpose of keeping the trial pending, additional sessions judge Amit M Shete said in the order on November 26.
The prosecution failed to prove charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt, said the order, a copy of which was made available on Monday.
The prosecution told the court that the girl, then aged 14, and the accused were neighbours at a slum colony in Vartak Nagar area of Maharashtra's Thane city.
On March 16, 2007, when the victim was alone in her house, the accused went there and allegedly raped her.
The victim then fell unconscious. When she regained consciousness, she found herself in a hospital, the prosecution said.
The judge noted that the "accused and the victim were residing almost adjacent to each other."
"The probability of they being indulged in each other cannot be ruled out," he said.
There is no material placed on record to demonstrate the exact age of the victim. In the absence of the same, as per the settled law as well as medical practice, the age of the victim can always be plus and minus two, the court said.
That means, at the time of the incident, the victim might be aged 14 or 16, the court added.
It also said there is no material to strengthen the serious charge of rape and therefore, at the most, one can infer that the accused trespassed into the victim's house and molested her.
"The accused as well as the victim, including the witnesses, are not traceable and therefore, no purpose will be served by keeping pending present trial for an uncertain period. Thus, in my view, the accused can be discharged," the judge said.