Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Jul 20: A magistrate's court in Mumbai has acquitted a 35-year-old man who had been facing charges of stalking, sending obscene messages and threatening to circulate private photographs of his former girlfriend, observing that the criminal case arose after their five-year relationship came to an end.

The court, which delivered its verdict this week after nearly 11 years of legal proceedings, found that the evidence presented during the trial did not support the prosecution's allegations.

According to the prosecution, the man and the complainant had known each other since childhood, studied together and later entered into a romantic relationship. It was alleged that after the woman became engaged to another person in October 2013, the accused threatened to leak her private photographs, contacted her fiancé and sent abusive messages along with the photographs.

However, during her testimony, the complainant admitted that the photographs in question had been taken by her and voluntarily shared with the accused while they were in a relationship.

Taking note of this admission, the magistrate observed that the evidence clearly established that the accused had not obtained the photographs without the complainant's knowledge or consent. Instead, the images had been shared by the woman during the course of their relationship.

The court also recorded that the complainant acknowledged the couple had dated for nearly five years and that the accused had never behaved inappropriately during that period.

Observing that the criminal proceedings appeared to stem from the breakdown of the relationship, the magistrate remarked that the prosecution had its roots in the end of the couple's long-standing relationship.

The court further pointed out shortcomings in the investigation, noting that the chargesheet had been filed even before the forensic laboratory report was received.

It also observed that the mobile phone allegedly used to send the objectionable messages did not belong to the accused but was registered in the name of another individual, identified as Akshay Rathod.

In view of the inconsistencies in the prosecution's case and the lack of conclusive evidence linking the accused to the alleged offences, the court acquitted him of all charges.