Survivor must be cited as witness in rape case: Karnataka HC

P Vasanth Kumar / TNN / Updated: May 7, 2023, 04:57 IST

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In a case of rape or any atrocity against a woman, the survivor must be cited as a witness, the Kalaburagi bench of Karnataka HC said in a recent judgment, reports P Vasanth Kumar."If the survivor is not arraigned as a witness, the case loses its significance," Justice S Rachaiah pointed out in his order while directing the Bidar SP to take necessary steps against the erring investigating officer for not having arraigned the survivor as a witness to the case.

Survivor must be cited as witness in rape case: Karnataka HC

The judge granted relief to the accused - a petitioner - on the ground that the survivor had not been made a witness. (File image)

BENGALURU: In a case of rape or any atrocity against a woman, the survivor must be cited as a witness, the Kalaburagi bench of Karnataka HC said in a recent judgment.
"If the survivor is not arraigned as a witness, the case loses its significance," Justice S Rachaiah pointed out in his order while directing the Bidar SP to take necessary steps against the erring investigating officer for not having arraigned the survivor as a witness to the case.
Officer acted illegally on purpose: HC
The judge granted relief to the accused - a petitioner - on the ground that the survivor had not been made a witness. "In the absence of victim [survivor] as a witness to the proceedings, it would not be appropriate to ask the petitioner to face trial," the judge added.

"It is emphasised here that the investigating officer deliberately and intentionally committed illegality in not citing the survivor as a witness in the chargesheet in order to facilitate the petitioner to avail such benefit," the judge further noted, while directing suitable action against the erring officer.
The 28-year-old accused is a resident of Alwai village in Bidar. A complaint was lodged against him by the husband of a woman with two children. It was alleged that on March 19, 2016, the petitioner, with the help of others, had abducted the wife of the complainant on a motorcycle and taken her to Basavakalyan, where she was allegedly raped.

However, in his petition, the accused argued that though cops had recorded her statement, in the chargesheet, the survivor had not been arraigned as a witness. On the other hand, the government advocate claimed that there were two witnesses to the crime and based on that, the petitioner ought to face trial.
Justice Rachaiah noted that statements of the witnesses indicated that the survivor was riding on a motorcycle along with the petitioner. "If she had really been abducted, she would have raised an alarm or grabbed the attention of the two witnesses...," the judge observed.

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