Rape Accused Must Be Protected Against Fake Cases, Says Supreme Court

SC stated that if the complainant in a rape case wishes to pursue against the accused for personal revenge, it must be ensured that the FIR/complaint is extremely carefully crafted.

While rape provides the most agony and disgrace to the victim, a false charge can inflict equal distress, humiliation, and injury to the accused, according to the Supreme Court, and he must be safeguarded from such inference, news agency PTI reported. When an accused approaches the court for quashing a FIR on the grounds that such proceedings are clearly frivolous or vexatious, the court owes a responsibility to examine into the FIR with care and a bit more attentively, according to a bench of justices B R Gavai and J B Pardiwala.

"It cannot be lost sight of that rape causes the greatest distress and humiliation to the victim but at the same time a false allegation of rape can cause equal distress, humiliation and damage to the accused as well. The accused must also be protected against the possibility of false implication, particularly where a large number of accused are involved," the bench was quoted by PTI in its report.

The Supreme Court stated that if the complainant in a rape case wishes to pursue against the accused for personal revenge, etc., he must ensure that the FIR/complaint is extremely carefully crafted with all the essential pleadings.

"The complainant would ensure that the averments made in the FIR/complaint are such that they disclose the necessary ingredients to constitute the alleged offence. Therefore, it will not be just enough for the Court to look into the averments made in the FIR/complaint alone for the purpose of ascertaining whether the necessary ingredients to constitute the alleged offence are disclosed or not," the bench said.

The Supreme Court stated that in frivolous or vexatious proceedings, the Court owes a responsibility to look into numerous other attendant facts arising from the record of the case in addition to the averments and, if necessary, try to read between the lines with due care and circumspection.

"The Court while exercising its jurisdiction under Section 482 of the CrPC or Article 226 of the Constitution need not restrict itself only to the stage of a case but is empowered to take into account the overall circumstances leading to the initiation/registration of the case as well as the materials collected in the course of investigation," the bench said.

The remark was made while overturning a decision of the Allahabad high court that had quashed a rape and criminal intimidation case against an accused lodged at Police Station Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district.

The Supreme Court stated that there is not a single accusation of rape or criminal intimidation against the accused in the whole FIR, and he has been targeted.

"The appellant has been shown as a history sheeter. If the FIR does not disclose anything against the appellant and even at the end of the investigation, if nothing incriminating has surfaced against the appellant herein, then the continuation of the criminal proceedings against the appellant herein would be nothing but gross abuse of the process of law," the bench said.