A teacher who spent 22 months in Tihar jail after being accused of rape is a relieved man. The 35-year-old, who does not want to be named, was acquitted by a local court in Delhi, which said the testimony of the 20-year-old woman was “not trustworthy”. His acquittal is a sad reminder of the exploitation of anti-rape laws in the country.

The resident of Agra says the allegation has tarnished his career. “Nobody wants to hire me,” he said. He was pursuing his M.Tech when he was arrested on January 25, 2012. He now plans to complete his studies and start his own business.

Gaurav Gupta, his counsel, said his client and the woman were cousins and had a romantic relationship since 2009. She frequented his flat in South Delhi since 2009 after the death of his mother. Their marriage was solemnized in Manali and was recorded and photographed.

On realising that they had not married as per Hindu laws, the couple parted ways. The woman got engaged to another man in Agra after which things went wrong. Her family got to know of her marriage to the teacher and filed a rape case against him.

In her complaint, the woman alleged that she was repeatedly raped for six months in 2011. She, however, refused to undergo a medical test at AIIMS. Later, she underwent a test at Safdurjung hospital, which showed no injury marks on her private parts, but confirmed sexual activity.

In its judgment, the court, said: “She remained with the accused for six months, but did not raise any objection or disclose the fact of rape to anyone. The testimony of prosecutrix is not trustworthy and does not inspire confidence.”

Gupta told dna that it is a clear case of misuse of law as she had six versions of the story. “Her family even thrashed and abducted my client in January 2012,” he said.

Additional sessions judge at Saket court, Gulshan Kumar, gave the acquittal order on October, 30, 2013, after which the teacher was released in the first week of November.