The SC-ST Court in Uttar Pradesh, in its 167-page judgment in the Hathras case, observed that there was no medical evidence that the victim was gang raped. Additional sessions judge Trilok Singh opined that the possibility that the victim had been tutored to change her statement later could not be ruled out.
The trial court emphasised that the victim was alive for 7-8 days after the crime and capable of talking, therefore it was impossible to conclude that the accused intended to kill her. As a result, rather than Section 302 of the IPC (murder), the court found Sandeep guilty under Section 304 of the IPC (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder)).
In addition, the judge expressed concern over the allegations of gang rape and stated that since many individuals were visiting the victim’s family and the issue had undoubtedly taken on a political dimension, it was possible that the woman had been taught to subsequently change her statement.
Furthermore, the court stated that it was the victim’s mother’s testimony that the victim had given the names of all four accused and had described the gang rape incident after two to three days after the incident; however, this evidence was unreliable because five days later, the victim had given only one accused’s name and no mention of rape in her statement to police.
Notably, on Thursday, March 2, an SC-ST court in Uttar Pradesh acquitted three people accused in the Hathras case and held only one guilty. Sandeep was the only accused found guilty, albeit for a lesser crime of culpable homicide that does not amount to murder.
Significantly, in the Hathras case, where it was initially alleged that the girl was gang raped and then murdered, none of the four accused has been found guilty of the offence of rape by the Special Court. In fact, the court has reportedly invoked only IPC section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide but not murder) and the SC/ST Act against Sandeep, who has been held guilty by the court, while acquitting the other three. The court sentenced Sandeep to life imprisonment.
Soon after the court announced the verdict, the victim’s family, through their lawyer, expressed their disappointment with the court’s decision and said they intend to appeal to the Allahabad High Court.
