Delhi High Court Quashes Rape FIR Citing Misuse Of Section 376 IPC, Says It's Used As Weapon By Some To Unnecessarily Harass Males

The Delhi High Court has recently quashed a rape FIR against a man citing misuse of Section 376 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, observing that it was a classic example of how an innocent person had faced undue hardships due to misuse of the penal provision.“It is true that the provision under which the FIR has been lodged is one of the most heinous crimes against women, however, it is also an established fact that some people use it as a weapon to unnecessarily harass the male counterpart,” Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said. The Court quashed the FIR registered against the man in September 2021 alleging that he had sexually harassed the complainant. He sought quashing of the FIR on the ground that he and the complainant were in a relationship and had established physical relations with due consent. He said that her statement recorded before the magistrate revealed that there were no allegations regarding him being indulged in physical relations with her on false pretext of marriage.In support of this contentions, the man placed on record screenshots of WhatsApp chats and transcript of the audio recordings. However, the prosecution submitted that the FIR was lodged under Section 376 of the IPC and since the same is a heinous offence, no occasion arose for quashing of the same.Allowing the plea, the Court noted that despite reservations from the man's family, he was ready to get married to the complainant who herself did not show any interest later on and entered into a relationship with another person.It further noted that the WhatsApp chats between the parties showed that the prosecutrix had sent several messages to the man and conveyed information regarding her decision to get married to another person, and thus, the FIR was nothing but an afterthought.“The relevant material on record, i.e. the recordings, WhatsApp chats, statement recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC etc. clearly establishes that the ingredients of Section 376 of the IPC are not met as the parties had consensually agreed to enter into physical relationship and the same was also not based on false promise of marriage,” the Court concluded while quashing the FIR. Title: SURAJ PARKASH v. STATE (NCT OF DELHI) & ANR.Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 1331Click here to read order

Delhi High Court Quashes Rape FIR Citing Misuse Of Section 376 IPC, Says It's Used As Weapon By Some To Unnecessarily Harass Males

Nupur Thapliyal

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