Delhi High Court: A petition was filed under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (BNSS) challenging order dated 08-10-2021 made by Additional Sessions Judge (FTSC) (RC), South-West District, Dwarka Courts, Delhi in FIR dated 21-12-2020 registered under sections 376, 328, 354-C, 506 and 509 of Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’) at P.S. Najafgarh, Delhi, whereby the Sessions Court has been pleased to frame charges against the petitioner under sections 376, 328, 354-C, 385 and 506 IPC. Anup Jairam Bhambhani, J., held that the matter be remanded back to the Sessions Court for a fresh hearing on the question of framing of charges.
The factual background of the case involves several incidents in October and November 2020, where the petitioner allegedly engaged in physical relations with the prosecutrix. The prosecutrix later filed the complaint, claiming that the petitioner had violated her and caused distress. However, the crux of the petitioner’s defense lies in the assertion that the physical relations were consensual, as revealed by the prosecutrix’s statement recorded under Section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) on 31-12-2020. In that statement, the prosecutrix admitted to the consensual nature of the physical relations and later explained that her actions were driven by confusion and anger following the breakdown of her engagement, which she believed the petitioner had caused. This led to the lodging of the complaint, despite her initial consent to the physical relations. Additionally, the prosecutrix acknowledged that video footage found on her mobile phone had been recorded by her, casting further doubt on the allegations.
Further developments in the case revealed that the Investigating Officer (I.O.) reported the deletion of certain WhatsApp chats from the prosecutrix’s phone, as well as the recovery of video footage in the phone’s deleted folder. The footage reportedly did not depict the prosecutrix as unconscious, contrary to her earlier claim in the FIR. The petitioner’s counsel also highlighted the absence of the forensic report regarding the video footage at the time charges were framed, a report which was subsequently received on 19-05-2022. The FSL report confirmed that no incriminating videos or chats were found on the petitioner’s phone, but an obscene video was retrieved from the prosecutrix’s phone, which allegedly contradicted the claim of non-consensual relations.
Counsel for petitioner argued that the charges were not substantiated, given the evidence of consensual physical relations and the corroborating video footage. The petitioner’s counsel requested a review of the charges, asserting that the FSL report and the video footage should be considered to potentially alter the framing of charges.
Counsel for State acknowledged the relevance of the video footage and agreed that the material facts, including the footage found on the prosecutrix’s phone, had not been considered at the time the charges were framed. Given the importance of this evidence, the Counsel for State concurred with the petitioner’s request for a reconsideration of the charges.
The Court, after considering the submissions and the relevance of the newly verified video footage, concluded that the matter should be remanded to the Sessions Court for a fresh hearing. The Court emphasized that the framing of charges should be reconsidered considering the FSL report and all the electronic data now available. The earlier order framing the charges was set aside, and the case was remanded back to the Trial Court for a new hearing on the question of charge framing. The parties were also granted the right to be heard again before any fresh charges were framed.
Thus, the petition was disposed of, and the matter was remanded for a thorough reconsideration of the charges in accordance with the newly obtained evidence.
[Ram Marvadi v. GNCTD, 2024 SCC OnLine Del 7621, decided on 25-10-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Mr. Varun Bhati and Mr. Bilal A. Khan, Advocates for petitioner
Mr. Utkarsh, APP for the State with W/SI Arti Singh, P.S. Najafgarh
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