Two men exonerated after 26 years in jail over fake rape charges

Justice delayed was justice denied in the case of two men who served sentences over false allegations of rape made by their niece. On August 21, the Supreme Court acquitted two people in a 2001 rape case that took place in the city of Faridabad, Haryana long after one had served 10 years and the other 7 years in jail.

Sham Singh, one of the two accused, appealed in the SC after spending years behind bars against the concomitant judgments of a Faridabad trial court and the Punjab and Haryana high court convicting them.

A report in The Times of India stated that a bench of Justices N V Ramana and Mohan M Shantanagoudar acquitted the two and said the offense of rape was not proved. Yet, it also recorded that, “The first accused Jai Singh has already served out the sentence imposed on him and the appellant Sham Singh has already served sentence of seven years out of the total of 10 years imposed on him.”

The bench did not address the fact that the two spent their prime years in jail because of false charges after the order for the immediate release of Sham Singh was given. The alleged case of rape dates back to August 22, 2001, when a minor girl alleged that the two brothers, who were her uncles, picked her up at night and raped her.

The case escalated when the accused informed the court that one of them had slapped the girl for going around with a boy in the village and writing ‘love letters’. A village panchayat then took place where the accused had apologised in writing for slapping the girl, the court was informed.

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