Karnataka HC acquits man convicted of raping minor after 10mo
India
The Karnataka High Court has set aside the conviction of a 32-year-old man accused of raping a 15-year-old girl, mainly because the complaint was filed in August 2018, roughly 10 months after the alleged incident.
The court questioned why there was such a long, unexplained delay and found this gap too significant to ignore.
No proof tied accused to crime
The victim gave birth about 10 months after the reported assault but had regular periods, raising questions for the judges.
DNA tests also ruled out the accused as the child's father, and the bench noted the negative DNA result.
With no clear proof that tied him to the crime—and several inconsistencies in how things were handled—the court felt there just wasn't enough solid evidence to uphold his conviction.