The discrepancy came to light in January when the Delhi high court encountered a PIL seeking the status of a 20-year-old rape case allegedly forgotten by the criminal justice delivery system as its file has been missing.
When attempts to find the "missing file" in the trial courts failed, a shocked HC directed a district and sessions judge to "reconstruct the records" of the matter related to the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl in Connaught Place by accused Karan Pal in June 1993.
The matter reached trial court once again in April and the accused was taken into custody. After hearing the case for four months, the court of district and sessions judge reserved the matter for judgment. However, on the day of the the verdict, the "missing file" resurfaced. To everyone's surprise, not only was the rape case heard two decades ago by the then additional sessions judge, the accused had also been acquitted on October 18, 1994.
In its order, the court noted that the file was traced from the record room of Tis Hazari court complex and the case had been decided in October 1994. When the PIL was being heard in HC, a report of the Saket district judge had said the matter was disposed of on October 18, 1995, as per the court register but no record was found.
The confusion regarding the year in which the case was decided seems to be the possible reason for the file having remained "untraceable". While disposing of the matter, district and sessions judge I S Mehta said, "Once the original file has been received and all the accused have already been acquitted, no further trial is required."
The PIL in HC had created quite a stir, with the HC directing the trial court to initiate action against officers responsible for non-availability of files. It had also constituted a three-member panel to examine the practices and systems prevailing in connection with the custody, maintenance, handing over, taking over and disposal of judicial record.
Another controversy had erupted when the investigating officer told HC that the victim had informed him about a settlement with the accused after which the case was disposed of, prompting the bench to demand how a serious crime of rape could be compounded and settled.
The matter had come to HC after a lawyer had filed an RTI to find out the status of the case. In the reply, it was said the file had been misplaced while the matter was shown as active in police and court records.
The FIR lodged by the victim 20 years ago had alleged that the minor was lured by a home guard woman constable, Brahm Pali, and taken to her house while she was waiting in CP in June 1993. Pali's son allegedly raped the girl the next day and tried to get her married forcibly. She was rescued by two men when she raised an alarm in public. Later, her parents had lodged the FIR.
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