Delhi Court acquits Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mohinder Goyal, brother in rape case

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Mohinder Goyal, who faced trial for allegedly raping a woman, has been acquitted by a Special MP/MLA Court in Delhi [State v. Mohinder Goyal & Anr]..Special Judge Geetanjli Goel absolved Goyal, who is a sitting MLA from the national capital’s Rithala constituency, on January 29.Along with Goyal, his brother too was given “benefit of the doubt” and acquitted..The order stated,“Vide separate judgement, accused Mohinder Goyal is acquitted of the offences under Sections 376(2)(n)/506/509 IPC.”The charges pertain to repeatedly raping a victim, criminal intimidation and intending to outrage a woman’s modesty.A detailed judgment is, however, awaited..Goyal was put on trial in February 2021 after the Court had found a prima facie case against him, observing that one cannot lose sight of the fact that the survivor fears for her reputation in sexual assault cases.The Court had then also framed charges under the Information Technology (IT) Act against his brother Ishwar Chand Goyal. The brother was accused of sending sexually explicit and obscene clips to the complainant..The complainant had alleged that she was raped by the MLA when she went to see him regarding a pension issue. She was allegedly intimidated by the MLA and his brother, who pressured her to establish physical relations with him and sent her explicit clips.She alleged that she was raped on multiple occasions, but eventually accepted an apology from the MLA in December 2018 owing to the fear of losing her reputation. On February 5, 2019, she purportedly received a message with obscene videos from the MLA's brother.The accused were represented by Senior Advocate Maninder Singh and Advocates Pankaj Baghla and Ekta, while Advocate Arun Kumar Khatri appeared for the complainant. Additional Public Prosecutor Manoj Garg argued for the State..[Read Order]