Ishika Singh 31 May 2020
Sunayana Chhabra 31 May 2020
Nihal Thareja 01 June 2020
Hello ma'am,
In this situation, the onus lies majorly on the investigation done by the police on the basis of the FIR filed by the victim as well as the evidences that have been presented by the party. The accused and the victim, both need to follow the procedure of law so as to allow the courts and authorities to come down to a fair decision based on all the facts and evidences.
In The important verdict which came out in February 2020, a case titled as SANTOSH PRASAD @SANTOSH KUMAR v/s THE STATE OF BIHAR(, the Supreme Court has held that the conviction of an accused in rape cases cannot be done on the basis of sole testimony of the Prosecutrix unless she passes the test of "Sterling Witness".
In the judgement, it was held that in order to convict an accused on the basis of solitary evidence of the Prosecutrix, the evidence must be absolutely trustworthy, unblemished and of sterling quality.
The court observed- "It cannot be lost sight of that rape causes the greatest distress and humiliation to the victim but at the same time, a false allegation of rape can cause equal distress, humiliation and damage to the accused as well. The accused must also be protected against the possibility of false implication, particularly where a large number of accused are involved."
In another judgment in the name of State of Punjab v. Gurmeet Singh & others(2005) it was observed that ordinarily, the evidence of a Prosecutrix should be believed as "no self-respecting woman will come forward in a Court just to make a humiliating statement against her honour such as is involved in the commission of rape on her"
Hope i was able to solve your query.