The court observed late on Tuesday that since the complainant, Manjulaben Vasava, had turned hostile, and had stated before the court that she had not been raped, the accused sub-inspector Praveen Chaudhary, head constables Naranbhai Rathwa and Bhanvjibhai Parmar and constables Kuberbhai Parmar, Chitubhai Rabari and Chandubhai Parmar, all of Shinor police station had to be acquitted of the charges.

Vasava's cousin Sangeeta, who had admitted the alleged victim to the SSG Hospital after the `incident', also turned hostile in court and denied that any such thing had occurred.

According to lawyers, Vasava's hostility, the subsequent acquittal of the accused, and the alleged victim's admission that she had lodged a false case could pave the way for legal proceedings against her.

``A Supreme Court judgment clearly states that if the complainant or the witnesses turn hostile, legal proceedings can be initiated against him/her. After all, it is the question of misleading the judiciary'', disclosed advocate Narendra Tiwari.

Tiwari said that the court could initiate legal proceedings suo motu against the hostile complainant. The police personnel accuse of rape, too, may take legal recourse against Vasava.

The complainant's statements last December make her especially vulnerable to legal proceedings. She had alleged that she had been assaulted, stripped naked and raped twice while she was in custody at the Shinor police station. Her private parts, too, had been burnt with a candle, she had claimed.