The court acquitted a man who spent 11 years in jail for raping a minor, giving this reason.:UP News: The Lucknow bench on Tuesday acquitted a man who spent 11 years in jail for raping a minor, citing serious flaws in the police investigation and lack of credible evidence.

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday acquitted a man who had spent 11 years in jail after being convicted of raping a minor, citing serious flaws in the police investigation and lack of credible evidence.

According to the information, the bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Brijraj Singh, accepting the appeal of accused Nirmal Kumar, cancelled the 2018 decision of the subordinate court in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

There is a case of alleged rape of a disabled girl.

This case dates back to 2010, when a 14-year-old mentally disabled girl was allegedly raped in Ayodhya district. The victim died three days later, after which her father filed an FIR against the accused, accusing him of rape and murder.

The lower courts had awarded life imprisonment.

The subordinate court had convicted the accused of rape and sentenced him to life imprisonment, but acquitted him of the murder charge as the cause of death was not clear. On re-examination of the evidence, the High Court found significant deficiencies in the prosecution's case.

Conviction should be based on evidence- Court

The bench observed that while the forensic report indicated the presence of human semen, there was no conclusive evidence linking the samples to the accused due to the absence of DNA testing or other scientific verification. Calling this a serious flaw in the investigation, the court stated in its order that convictions in criminal cases should be based on evidence beyond reasonable doubt, not on suspicions or conjectures.

As the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt conclusively, the bench set aside the conviction and ordered the immediate release of the appellant.