Allahabad High Court Acquits Doctor Convicted for Raping Minor Daughter After Wife's False S*xual Abuse Allegation
The Allahabad High Court has acquitted a doctor and his brother who were previously sentenced to life imprisonment in a 2018 POCSO case. Setting aside the conviction, the court concluded that the doctor’s estranged wife concocted the rape allegations and tutored their six-year-old daughter to falsely implicate him during a marital dispute.
The Allahabad High Court has set aside a trial court's verdict and acquitted a doctor who was sentenced to life imprisonment last year for the alleged rape of his 6-year-old daughter in 2018. A Bench of Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Jai Krishan Upadhyay also acquitted the doctor's brother, who had been convicted in the same case.
Court Finds Child Was Tutored
In its verdict delivered on August 13, the High Court concluded that the minor child had been tutored by her mother, who was estranged from her husband, reports Bar and Bench. The bench noted that the mother concocted the allegations over time to implicate her husband in severe criminal charges that carried a life sentence. ‘Long-Term Consensual Relationship Cannot Be Treated As Rape’: Allahabad High Court.
"The appellants are honourably acquitted of all the charges as were levelled against them in the instant case," the Court ruled, ordering the immediate release of the doctor from jail, while noting that his brother was already out on bail.
Background of the Case
The case dates back to March 2018, when the girl's mother - herself a doctor - filed a police complaint alleging that her daughter was s*xually abused by her husband during a 10-day stay in Haldwani. The defence and court evidence, however, pointed to a congenial relationship during that period, noting that the child frequently and cheerfully communicated with her mother on a separate mobile phone provided by her father.
Reviewing evidence such as emails and photographs, the Court observed that initial grievances regarding family disputes escalated into severe legal accusations following the filing of a divorce petition by the father. The bench emphasised that the child had lived under her mother's care during the contentious divorce proceedings, leaving her vulnerable to influence. Wife-Husband POSH Case: Allahabad High Court Stays Action, Examines POSH Law in Marital Dispute.
Caution in POCSO Cases
In its concluding remarks, the High Court stressed that the testimony of child witnesses in matrimonial disputes must be handled with extreme care. "We would like to add that cases in which the POCSO Act is being used as an instrument to accuse either of the parents then the evidence of a child witness should be considered with great caution," the Bench stated, adding that the doctor's brother had been implicated without any supporting evidence.
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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2026 01:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
