Bilaspur
The love affair, which started with the friendship on Facebook, could not reach the marriage. As part of the allegations of sexual abuse by the young man by pretending to be married, the lower court was convinced by giving him the benefit of suspicion. The victim filed an appeal in the High Court against this decision, which was rejected. The High Court said that the woman was an adult and had a relationship with her consent. Therefore, the charge of rape on the accused is not proved.
The victim was identified by the accused through Facebook in 2018-19. The friendship between the two increased and gradually it turned into a love affair. In the year 2021, the accused called him at 11:30 pm and called him and took him to a friend’s house on his bike, where he promised to marry and made a physical relationship with him. The victim alleges that the young man had a physical relationship with her several times, making her pregnant twice. However, the accused said that his parents would not accept if they conceive before marriage.
High court comments
The court said in its order that- the victim was an adult and she had consent relations. He did not protest while staying and leaving with the accused.
Medical examination did not give any clear opinion about pregnancy. The testimony of the victim is important in cases of rape, but her statements in this case did not seem completely reliable. Keeping all these facts in mind, the High Court rejected the victim’s appeal, keeping the accused’s blame.
Accused of accused from FTC court
The complaint of the case was given to Superintendent of Police Bemetra on 26 April 2023. Based on this, a crime was registered against the accused and a challan was presented in the court. The case was heard in the fast track court of Bemetara, where the accused was convicted giving the benefit of suspicion. The victim challenged the decision of the lower court in the High Court. The High Court believed that there was a love affair between the accused and she was having a physical relationship with consent. The court also admitted that an FIR was lodged two years after the incident, causing doubts in the confirmation of the allegations.
Government told 27 crore, High Court sought complete report
A public interest litigation filed by social activist Satyabhama Awasthi for giving compensation to the incest victims and women in the state was heard in the High Court on Monday. During this period, the government presented a written reply and said that at what level the compensation process is going on. The court set the next hearing on 16 April after the submission of the government. In the earlier hearing, the Advocate General had said that the state government had made a provision of Rs 27 crore in the financial year 2023-24, which has been completely released. Similarly, in the financial year 2024-25, a budget of Rs 27 crore has been set under the Victim Compensation Scheme, 2018 and an additional amount has been provided in the supplementary budget.
26.74 crore released so far, remaining amount under process
The government has informed the High Court that an amount of 26 crore 74 lakh 32 thousand 700 has been released under the current financial year 2024-25. The remaining budget amount will be released on receiving the proposal from the concerned department. After the reply submitted by the government in the hearing held on Monday, the High Court has fixed the date of 16 April 2025 for the next hearing of the case.
