New Delhi, Jul 27 (IANS): A man accused of kidnapping a minor girl has been acquitted by a Delhi court on the grounds that the prosecution was unable to prove that he had lured her away from her parents' lawful guardianship.

The case, registered at Govindpuri police station, had charged the man under IPC's Sections 363 (kidnapping) and 342 (wrongful confinement) for allegedly forcing the 15-year-old girl to run away with him to Jaipur on April 13, 2018.

The Metropolitan Magistrate said that the burden of proof lies upon the prosecution to establish the case against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.

After carefully examining the evidence and arguments, the court found that the prosecution had failed to meet this standard. It found that the girl had willingly left with the accused, and there was no evidence of any enticement by him.

The court pointed out that the prosecution relied solely on the alleged victim's statement, without providing any additional evidence such as Call Detail Records (CDRs), CCTV footage, or statements from witnesses to support their claim that the accused had taken the girl to Jaipur.

This lack of evidence weakened the prosecution's case significantly, it noted.

Moreover, the court observed that the prosecution had not proven that the accused had enticed or allured the victim to leave her parents' guardianship by making any promises or inducements. The circumstances indicated that the girl had left with the accused without any such enticement. The court said the prosecution also failed to prove that the girl was wrongfully restrained, as she made no such statement.

Furthermore, the girl's statement to the police, where she mentioned leaving with the accused willingly due to mutual affection, contradicted what she later stated in court, raising doubts about the consistency of her statements.

Based on these considerations, the magistrate ruled in favour of the accused and acquitted him of all charges.