New Delhi [India], July 4 (HBTV): Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court has ordered the filing of a complaint against a woman who lodged a false rape case with the intent of extorting money from the accused. While acquitting the man, the court noted that the woman had met him on a matrimonial website and framed him under the pretext of a potential marriage.

Quoting American criminal defence attorney F. Lee Bailey, the court observed: ‘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 added, ‘The above adage squarely applies to the case herein, as we would see while I pen out this judgment.’

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Anuj Agrawal acquitted the accused and directed that a complaint for perjury be filed against the woman for making false statements before the court.

‘An acquittal would not serve the interest of justice, as the law must not only punish the guilty but also protect the dignity of an innocent,’ the court said, adding that the prosecutrix had lied under oath, thereby ‘destroying the trust on which justice stands’.

The judge ordered that a complaint for offences of perjury be forwarded to the Chief Judicial Magistrate (Central).

According to the prosecution, the woman and the accused began chatting in 2021 after meeting on a matrimonial website. It was alleged that in September 2021, the accused molested her in his car and took nude photographs on his phone. She claimed he promised to delete the photos and marry her. Later, she alleged that on October 14, 2021, the accused visited her flat, where he forcibly committed vaginal and anal intercourse and again took photos.

However, forensic examination of the accused’s mobile phone did not recover any such photographs.

The court found the woman’s testimony riddled with contradictions, inconsistencies, and fabrications.

‘False rape accusations not only put unnecessary load on the overflowing dockets but also cause grave injustice to actual rape victims,’ the judgment noted.

Following an investigation, police filed a chargesheet revealing that the woman had previously filed four similar rape cases against other individuals.

‘The gavel has fallen in favour of the accused, but the echo of accusation lingers, for society remembers the charge and not the verdict. In our social milieu, a false accusation of rape or sexual assault leaves an indelible impression upon the social psyche which no judicial imprimatur can remove,’ the court observed.

The court also noted that the accused had been detained even before an FIR was formally registered. It observed that a police official and the investigating officer were in regular contact with the woman between September 18 and October 24, 2021.

‘It is clear that the personal liberty of the accused was curtailed (amounting to arrest in the eyes of law) the moment he was detained from his house by police officials,’ the court stated.

The defence argued that some police officials were in cahoots with the complainant to extort money from the accused. The court said this allegation ‘cannot be brushed aside lightly’.

While refraining from issuing direct orders on the conduct of the police, the judge left it to the discretion of the Delhi Police Commissioner to initiate any remedial action deemed necessary, adding, ‘so that the cherished motto of the Delhi Police Force — shanti, seva, nyay — does not get belied’. (ANI)