Court acquits rape accused, woman faces perjury action for 'lying' under oath

A Delhi court has acquitted a rape accused and ordered perjury action against the woman complainant for "concocting a mendacious story". Additional sessions judge Anuj Agrawal further asked the Delhi Police commissioner to look into the matter and take remedial action.

In its order on 2 July, the court quoted American criminal defence attorney F. Lee Bailey as saying, "In court, the truth is often lost in the process. The oath is meant to protect it, but men lie, even under God." The court said the adage squarely applied to the case.

"False rape accusations not only put unnecessary load on the overflowing dockets but also cause grave injustice to actual rape victims as it impinges upon precious judicial time and scarce state’s resource," the judge said.

The court further observed that a scenario of the police officials in cahoots with the woman to extort money from the accused could not be brushed aside.

The man was booked for rape, outraging the woman’s modesty and assaulting her with the intent to disrobe. He was accused of raping her on different dates after meeting her through a matrimonial portal. It emerged on record that the woman had registered four similar FIRs against other persons and was in telephonic contact with the accused prior to the creation of his profile on the matrimonial portal.

The order noted that the complainant was already married twice before the creation of her matrimonial profile, in which she falsely declared herself as never married and used different identities with variations in her name. She was booked for possessing two Aadhaar cards, the court said.

The court found "material and inherent" contradictions in her version aside from her "bare assertions" without any technical, scientific or medical evidence being brought on record.

The CCTV footage in the vicinity of her flat, the court said, did not show the presence of the accused on the alleged date of rape. It was also found that she was in continuous touch with local police officials long prior to the registration of the FIR.

Rape case: HC grants bail to film director, notes trend of false complaints of sexual offences

"The said circumstances, if seen cumulatively, unerringly lead to only one irresistible conclusion that it was a case wherein the victim entrapped the accused in a pre-planned manner on the pretext of a matrimonial alliance to extort money from him," the order read.

The judge also underlined the delay in filing the FIR for the offence on 14 October 2021. The order said it was clear that the woman "made a false statement before court after concocting a mendacious story of rape/molestation".

A simple acquittal would not serve the interest of justice, the court noted, as the law not only meant to punish the guilty but also protect the dignity of the innocent. "In the present social milieu, a false accusation of rape or sexual assault left an indelible impression upon the social psyche, which could not be removed by a judicial verdict."

The court ordered perjury proceedings against the complainant, saying she had lied under oath. "Before parting, I am at pains to observe that the arrest of the accused, in the instant matter, was carried out in a tearing hurry by the investigating agency without any justifiable reasons and that too even before registration of FIR," the judge said.

He said though feeble attempts were made to justify the arrest by terming it as mere detention and carrying out the formal arrest at a later stage, it was clear that the personal liberty of the accused was curtailed.

"The contention of defence that police officials sub-inspector (SI) Kanhiya Lal, investigating officer and woman SI Soni Lal and the then station house officer were in cahoot with prosecutrix so that they could extort money from accused, cannot be brushed aside lightly," the order said.

Any action against the police officials was the administrative discretion of the Delhi Police commissioner, who could look into the matter and take appropriate remedial action so that the cherished motto of Delhi Police 'Shanti (peace) seva (service) and nyaya (justice)' was not belied, it added.