NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court rescued a young man, who impulsively eloped with a college girl and stayed together at Hyderabad for two months but for the next 13 years the man faced the rigour of police investigation and later, was concurrently convicted of kidnapping and rape by the trial court and the Telangana HC.A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta acquitted the man of all charges on finding that the couple were in a consensual relationship and had eloped on their own volition. The trial court had convicted and sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment, which was reduced to two years by the HC.The man had eloped with his friend’s sister on Aug 4, 2012, and the couple stayed at Shadnagar, Hyderabad. The girl’s mother had on Aug 8 lodged a missing complaint with police. On Oct 12, the man met with an accident while riding his motorcycle and was admitted to hospital. On that day the girl returned to her parental home. On her statement, the police lodged an FIR for kidnapping and rape against the man.Analysing the evidence produced before the trial court, the bench said, “The girl’s deposition does not demonstrate that the man forcibly removed or enticed her from the guardianship of her parents with deceit or inducement. She admits having voluntarily accompanied the man on a motorbike on Aug 4, 2012. SC wondered as to why the girl’s mother waited for four days to lodge a missing complaint and said the girl living willingly and without protest with the man for two months generates doubts over the kidnapping theory of the police.The bench said when the man was hospitalised after the accident, she remained with him for two days. On rape charge, it said, “This charge has no legs to stand on, for she only makes a positive statement about the occurrence of sexual intercourse and does not even in the slightest imply the same to be against her will.”Acquitting him of all charges, Justices Karol and Mehta said, “We do not find any evidence which may suggest that the appellant kidnapped the victim from lawful guardianship or confined her, for approximately two months, against her volition in a house at Hyderabad or had sexual intercourse with the victim against her will or without her consent.”