Wife won't allow husband to rape someone in her presence: Court

New Delhi, Apr 29: No woman would allow her husband to establish physical relations with another in her presence, a Delhi court has said while acquitting a man of the charge of raping his widowed sister-in-law in front of his wife.

"It is improbable that the wife of accused would keep on gagging the mouth of the woman at the time of the alleged rape ...No wife in this world would like or allow her husband to make physical relation with another woman in her presence," Additional Sessions Judge Sanjiv Jain said while absolving the man of the offences of rape and criminal intimidation.

The court also refused to believe the complainant's claim that she was tied up by her mother-in-law while the accused raped her, saying it is "highly improbable that a lady of about 78 years could tie the hands and legs of the woman so as to make her son (accused) have physical relations with the woman".

The court noted that there was a property dispute between the woman and her in-laws and hence the possibility of false implication of the accused "cannot be ruled out".

The judge rejected her testimony, saying it was full of "contradictions" which made the case "highly suspicious".

"I am conscious of legal proposition that conviction in such like cases can be made on the sole testimony of victim and her version in rape commands great respect but if there are some circumstances which cast doubts in the mind of court then it is not safe to rely on uncorroborated version of the victim of rape," the judge said.

According to the prosecution, the woman had lodged a complaint in December 2012 alleging that after her husband's death, her in-laws wanted to get the house, which was in her name, transferred to her mother-in-law because of which they harassed her and on one occasion, her brother-in-law allegedly raped her.

She had claimed that her mother-in-law and sister-in-law assisted him in committing the offence.

PTI