A court in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh last week convicted a woman for falsely accusing a man of rape charges in 2018 [State of Uttar Pradesh v. Nisha].Additional District Judge Gyanendra Tripathi sentenced the woman to 4 years, 6 months and 8 days (1,653 days) of imprisonment. This is the same period the man had spent in jail due to such false accusation.The Court also imposed a fine of around ₹5.9 lakh on the woman, to be paid to the man she falsely accused. It also made clear that if there occurs any default in paying the fine, she would be sentenced to an additional 6 months of imprisonment."Although it is absolutely appropriate and expected for the safety of women to be ensured by the government, administration and courts through related policies and laws, it does not mean that women who take unfair advantage of it will have the right to attack the interests of men. Exemption should be provided. Apart from this, the actions of proven guilty women, like the one presented in the case, are likely to harm the real victims of the society. In such a situation, it seems appropriate to punish the proven culprit (the woman) with harsh punishment," the Court said. (translated to English)In 2018, one Ajay Kumar alias Raghav was booked for kidnapping and rape of his colleague's sister. The woman, who was then 15 years old, told the police as well as the magistrate that she was raped by Ajay.However, during cross-examination, the girl deviated from her statement, saying that she intentionally lied to the magistrate and confirming that she was never molested or raped by Ajay.Considering this, the Court deemed fit to initate the prosecution of the woman under Section 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.In its analysis, the Court had noted that it is absolutely clear that there was no offence of rape or kidnapping. However, because of the false statement given by the woman, Ajay has been falsely implicated in this case and had remained behind bars for over 4 years."This detention was a result of the false allegation of conviction. If the incident was true, then Ajay should have been punished, whereas in the cross-examination held after 4 months of supporting the incident in the main examination, the woman (present culprit) declared the above Ajay innocent," the Court observed.It went on to state,"Government and judiciary ensure strict action in women-related complaints but that does not mean that woman can misuse or tend to take undue advantage of the law made for their protection, so as to violate the rights of men," the Court said while convicting the woman for malicious prosecution.
TAGS: Bareilly Uttar Pradesh false rape accusation conviction imprisonment fine judicial verdict justice criminal procedure
