Delhi High Court orders release of man convicted in 2009 minor abduction case; couple now married to others
The Delhi High Court has directed the release of a man convicted in a 2009 case involving the abduction of a 14-year-old girl. Justice Vimal Kumar Yadav noted that the appellant and the prosecutrix are now living separate married lives with their respective spouses, and that sending him to jail would be a travesty of justice. The court treated the custody period already undergone as sufficient punishment.
The case stemmed from 2009 when the girl went missing from her home. An 18-year-old boy and the girl travelled together from Delhi to Manali and returned. While the boy claimed the relationship was consensual and the girl initially corroborated this account to medical authorities and police, she later changed her statement. The trial court convicted him under Sections 363, 366, and 376 of the IPC.
The High Court considered the changed circumstances and the appellant's clean antecedents in modifying the sentence, accepting that continued imprisonment would not serve the ends of justice.
