The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday upheld the acquittal of Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, popularly known as Gulzar Peer, and three others in an alleged rape case registered over a decade ago in Budgam district.
The verdict marked the end of a prolonged legal battle that began with an FIR filed in 2013 at Khansahib Police Station.
A bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma dismissed the appeal filed by the erstwhile state of Jammu Kashmir, which had contested the acquittal decisions of both the Budgam Sessions Court and the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
In February 2015, the Sessions Court had acquitted the accused in Sessions Case No. 142/S, citing a lack of evidence. That decision was later upheld by the High Court in February 2017. Dissatisfied with these rulings, the State approached the Supreme Court with Criminal Appeal No. 1682 of 2017.
Represented by advocates Parth Awasthi and Pradeep Baisoya
