KATHMANDU, April 14: The Patan High Court acquitted suspended Judge Bhuwan Giri in a rape case, citing five specific grounds.
On Sunday, Judges Lal Bahadur Kunwar and Dilli Ratna Shrestha overturned the earlier verdict that had sentenced Giri to prison. Following the acquittal, authorities released Giri from Dilli Bazaar Prison at 10 am on Monday.
Giri was accused of repeatedly raping his wife on the night of April 10, 2023. In connection with the charge, the Kathmandu District Court sentenced him to seven years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 300,000 on June 11, 2023. Since then, he had been serving his sentence in prison.
On Sunday, the Patan High Court overturned the district court's verdict based on five grounds.
The victim told the police that the incident occurred between 10 pm on April 10 and the afternoon of April 11, 2023. Acting on the complaint, Kathmandu police arrested Judge Giri the same day and launched an investigation. The court acknowledged that the two first met in Sundhara, went to Baneshwar for tea, had dinner at a restaurant in the evening, and later went to the complainant's rented room in Gongabu.
The report also noted that they spent the night at the rented room and cooked and ate breakfast together the next morning.
Suspended Judge Giri released after acquittal in marital rape c...
During that time, the wife filed a complaint, alleging that Giri raped her eight times.
While acquitting Giri, the court first pointed out that investigators failed to question the complainant's sister, who was staying in the same flat during the incident.
"The investigation team did not question the complainant's sister, who was present in the flat at the time of the incident," the court stated.
During the investigation, police prepared an on-site report with the house owner, who stated that he had not seen any quarrel between the two during the time of the incident. The court presented this statement as the second ground for acquittal.
As the third ground, the court noted that the site report attached to the case file did not show any signs, evidence, or circumstances indicating a struggle or conflict.
The court also cited the complainant's medical report as the fourth ground, stating that the report failed to confirm that the incident had occurred.
The order states, "Although the complainant reported pain in her genital area during the physical examination, the test report does not show any immediate injuries to her genital area or other parts of her body."
The court also considered the laboratory test report as the fifth ground for acquittal.
"The laboratory test report attached to the case file does not provide any evidence of physical relations between the two," the order stated.
The court acquitted Giri based on these five grounds
The order states, "The complainant's statement mentions cooking and eating breakfast together on the morning of April 11, despite alleging eight instances of forced sexual intercourse between the night of April 10 and the afternoon of April 11. This contradiction undermines the credibility of the alleged incident." The order continues, "Given these circumstances, the allegations against Giri could not be substantiated with objective evidence, and therefore, the accused must be acquitted of the charges."
At the time, Giri served as a District Judge in Kapilvastu. His wife filed a complaint of marital rape, leading to an investigation and the registration of the case in court. Subsequently, the Judicial Council suspended Giri.