Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Virender Kumar Goyal let off Delhi resident Anil Bhardwaj from the charges of abetting the suicide of his 17-year-old girlfriend in 2000, saying had the accused abetted her suicide, she would have mentioned the same to the doctor before she died.

The ASJ also absolved Bhardwaj from charges of abducting his girlfriend to compel her to marry him and cheating her saying she had voluntarily joined the accused and was not lured by him to do so.

"Nothing has been brought on record that accused had kidnapped or abducted or enticed the prosecutrix with intention to compel her to marry with him or that she may be forced or seduced for illicit intercourse.

"It is well settled that where the girl leaves her father's protection knowing or having capacity to know, the full import of what she is doing, and voluntarily joins the accused person, the accused cannot be said to have taken her away from her lawful guardian.

"Had there been any abetment on the part accused Anil Bhardwaj for consumption of poison by her, then certainly she would have disclosed the same to the doctor at that time," the court said.

According to the police, both Bhardwaj and the girl were admitted in RML Hospital here on the intervening night of July 22-23, 2000 after the staff of the hotel, where the couple was staying, had found them unwell and vomiting in the room.

Prior to her death, the girl had told the doctor at the hospital that she had consumed poison which had made her nauseous and she had started vomiting.

The FIR was lodged by the girl's father in June 2000 accusing Bhardwaj of enticing his daughter away with promises of marriage after the girl, a class 12 student, had not returned home after going to school.

Later when the girl died on July 23, 2000, a second FIR was filed against Bhardwaj for allegedly abetting her suicide.

The girl's father had deposed in the court that his daughter in her dying declaration to him and her grandfather had said that the accused had not allowed her to return home and had forced her to take poison.

The counsel for Bhardwaj, however, had contended that his client and the girl were in love and she had left her home to be with the accused on her own.

He had also argued that the poison was mixed with some juice by the girl herself in absence of his client and both his client and the girl had consumed it as Bhardwaj too was also admitted to the hospital.

Bhardwaj in his deposition had said the girl had come to stay with him on her own as they were in love and that she was scared of going back as she feared that her family would kill her.