According to the Karnataka High Court, the DNA report exonerating the offender in a rape case is not conclusive evidence. A single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna(ABC v. STATE BY T.N.PURA POLICE STATION) while dismissing the accused’s petition against the criminal proceedings
FACTS OF THE CASE
The bench cited the DNA report and concluded that it proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the petitioner should be granted relief. It went on to say that this in no way exonerated the defendant of all responsibility for the charges against him.
JUDGEMENT AND ORDER
The bench then read the victim’s statement recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code and stated, “If what the 12 year old youngster tells before the learned Magistrate, is taken note of, they are all unpardonable crimes on the part of the petitioner unless proved otherwise.”
It continued, “There is no reason to disbelieve the victim’s testimony as narrated in the said statement, and the DNA test would exclude the petitioner as father of the child, but cannot discredit what the victim has narrated in her 164 Cr.P.C. statement that the petitioner had forcibly committed sexual acts on her.”
The bench stated the DNA test results cannot be considered definitive proof about the petitioner’s allegations and instead should be seen as corroborative evidence at best.
The court said it had “found no merit” in the criminal petition and had thus thrown it out.
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Judgement reviewed by Deepa Bajaj.
