The havildar was charged under Section 46(a) of the Army Act for disgraceful conduct of an unnatural kind
A District Court Martial (DCM) has acquitted an Army havildar who was tried on charges of sexually abusing a newly recruited Agniveer in the barracks of a Sikh Light Infantry battalion.
The havildar was charged under Section 46(a) of the Army Act for disgraceful conduct of an unnatural kind, wherein he asked the Agniveer to come along with him to shift store items and then took him to a bathroom when he sexually abused him.
The defence counsel Akshit Anand contended that the accused never left from his barracks at the alleged time of incident. Further, during the alleged time, there was an inspection going on and the complainant was present inside the barracks along with other soldiers.
The DCM, presided over by Lt Col Dinesh Choudhary, examined 21 witnesses in support of its findings. It also inspected the alleged site of incident and its surroundings and held that it was at variance with what was described by the complainant.
The court also found inconsistencies in the testimonies of some of the witnesses and held that the opinion of a surgical specialist who deposed before it is not totally attributable to a sexual offence.