Mumbai court drops rape case against S African judge
Reuters, Mumbai
A Mumbai court has dropped a case against a South African judge charged with raping a fellow delegate during an anti-globalisation meeting in Mumbai three months ago, a defence lawyer said yesterday. Sirajuddin Desai, 53, a high court judge in Cape Town, was arrested in January after a South African woman accusing him of raping her when she visited his hotel room to discuss a project for the World Social Forum. A lawyer for Desai denied the accusation at the time, saying his client had been framed. The South African judge was held for four days and then granted bail. "The sessions court judge stated yesterday that the complaint lodged by the complainant was false," said defence lawyer RA Shaikh. "He said there was no medical evidence to suggest Desai committed rape so the case against him was discharged." The case had attracted huge media attention in South Africa with journalists flying to Mumbai for court hearings. Four days after making her complaint to police in Mumbai, the South African woman filed an affidavit in the Indian consulate in Johannesburg withdrawing the rape complaint. Shaikh said his client was present in the Mumbai sessions court during the three days of court hearings this week.
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