Delhi High Court Declining to squash a rape case compromised by the complainant and accused persons, the Delhi High Court has said that false claims and allegations of molestation and rape need to be dealt with an iron hand due to the serious nature of the offences.
“Such litigations are instituted by the unscrupulous litigants in the hope that the other party will capitulate to their demands out of fear or shame. Unless wrongdoers are not made to face the consequences of their actions, it would be difficult to prevent such frivolous litigations,” said Justice Subramonium Prasad in a judgement.
The court made the observations on Monday in an order dismissing a petition seeking quashing of an FIR registered under Section 376 IPC by Aman Vihar police station. The parties had registered cross-cases of rape against each other at the same police station in 2019. In one of the cases, a lawyer is a complainant against another lawyer, and in the second case wife of the accused lawyer is the complainant.
The court in the order said that it was tragic to note that practising advocates belonging to the legal fraternity were trivialising the offence of rape. “Rape is not merely a physical assault; it is often destructive of the whole personality of the victim. The act of rape has the ability to scar the mental psyche of the victim and this trauma can persist for years,” it said, adding it was a matter of grave concern that people are treating the allegations of rape in a very casual manner.
Justice Prasad further said that quashing an FIR related to offences like rape on the basis of compromise will encourage the “accused to put pressure on the victims to agree to a compromise and this will open doors for the accused to get away with a heinous crime which cannot be permitted.”
The court also said that the false allegations of rape have the potential to destroy the life and career of the accused. “The accused in a false case of rape loses his honour, cannot face his family and is stigmatized for life. Allegations regarding offences such as one under Section 376 IPC cannot be made at the drop of a hat – in order to settle personal scores,” it said.
It also said that the time spent by police in investigating false cases hinders them from spending time investigating serious offences which as a result lead to faulty investigations.
“Valuable judicial time is also spent in hearing cases where false allegations are made and is consequently an abuse of the process of law. Therefore, people who make such false allegations of rape cannot be permitted to go scot-free. This Court is pained to note that there is an alarming increase of false cases of rape and offences under Section 354, 354A, 354B, 354C & 354D only to arm-twist the accused and make them succumb to the demands of the complainant,” the court noted in the order.
The court said that if it is found that the cases which have been filed by the parties against each other are false and frivolous then action should be taken against the prosecutrix and others who were instrumental in levelling allegations of rape only to settle some personal scores. “There is an urgent need to deter such frivolous litigations,” it said.
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