Practice Of Lodging False FIRs Alleging Rape Has To Be Dealt With A Heavy Hand: Allahabad HC Imposes ₹10K Cost On A Woman

The Allahabad High Court last week imposed a cost of Rs. 10K on a woman who admittedly lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against 4 men falsely accusing them of committing the offences of rape, and unnatural sex against her. The Court also said that the practice of lodging FIRs and falsely making serious allegations of rape cannot be permitted and that such a practice has to be dealt with a "heavy hand". "The criminal justice system cannot be permitted to be used as a tool for setting personal disputes by filing first information reports which are admittedly false," the bench of Justice Anjani Kumar Mishra and Justice Vivek Kumar Singh remarked further.With this, the Court allowed a writ petition filed by 4 accused and quashed the impugned FIR lodged against them under Sections 376, 377, 313, 406, and 506 IPC.Essentially, the Court was dealing with the writ petition filed by accused persons who had moved the Court contending that the FIR against them was fabricated and concocted. It was further informed to the Court that petitioner no.1 and the first informant (alleged rape victim) have solemnized their marriage as both are major and now they are happily living together out of their free will as husband and wife.Besides this, the Court was also informed that an application has been filed by the first informant/alleged victim addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Prayagraj admitting that she had lodged a false FIR "in a huff" upon some differences having cropped up between her and petitioner no.1. Before the Court, her counsel reiterated the submission made by the counsel for the accused persons and submitted that now the alleged victim is living with petitioner no. 1/accused as his wife and hence, prayed that the writ petition be quashed. Taking into account the submissions made by parties before it and perusing the application filed by the alleged victim, the Court, at the outset remarked that it was clear that serious allegations of rape were falsely alleged against the petitioners which leads to only one conclusion- that the false FIR was lodged to "pressurize the petitioner and /or to settle scores".Further, stressing that the practice of lodging such FIRs making false allegations of rape has to be dealt with a heavy hand, the Court, while allowing the plea, saddled the alleged victim with a cost of Rs.10,000/- to be deposited within a period of 10 days.Advocate Ramesh Chandra Agrahari appeared for the petitioners.Also read: Genuine Cases Of Sexual Offences Now An Exception; Women Lodging False FIRs After Long Physical Relation With Accused: Allahabad HC“Rape Law Misused As A Weapon By Females Upon Differences With Male Counterpart”: Uttarakhand High CourtAllegations Of Sexual Assault On Rise; Inordinate Delay In Lodging FIR To Be Considered At The Stage Of Bail: Allahabad HCCase title - Shivam Kumar Pal @ Sonu Pal And 3 Others vs. State Of U.P. And 2 Others [CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION No. - 11560 of 2023]Case Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 246Click Here To Read/Download Order

Practice Of Lodging False FIRs Alleging Rape Has To Be Dealt With A Heavy Hand: Allahabad HC Imposes ₹10K Cost On A Woman

Sparsh Upadhyay

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