A man, accused of stalking and molesting a woman doctor at AIIMS, has been let off by a Delhi court which gave him benefit of doubt saying the prosecution could not prove its case.
Metropolitan Magistrate Pooja Aggarwal acquitted the man, who was also an employee at the hospital, saying the alleged message sent by him to the doctor, which was primary evidence, could not be proved.
“While the woman has deposed as to the accused sending her text message, but for reasons best known to the prosecution the message was not relied upon by the complainant during her examination in chief.
“The allegations levelled against the accused were to be proved only by leading the best evidence i.e. the primary evidence and in this case it was the message itself which has not been proved by the prosecution,” the magistrate said.
It also noted that the prosecution neither seized the phones of the complainant and accused nor placed on record their call detail records to prove the allegation.
“I have carefully considered the arguments raised and the entire evidence on record. From the entire evidence on record, it is seen that the prosecution has failed to discharge the burden cast upon it to prove offence under IPC.
“The testimony of none of its witnesses elucidates the date or time when the accused allegedly followed the complainant at the wards,” the magistrate said.
According to prosecution, the pediatrician at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here, had lodged a complaint alleging that the accused, a worker in the hospital, stalked her and followed her repeatedly.
She had alleged that he obtained her mobile number from the OPD card and sent her text message confessing that he loved her, it said.
During the trial, the accused had denied the allegations and claimed he was falsely implicated in the case.
“Thus, from the entire evidence on record, as prosecution has failed to prove the ingredients of offence, it has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and the accused is given the benefit of doubt and he is acquitted…” the court said.
( Source – PTI )
