Kerala High Court Directs Police Action Against Woman Who Made False Rape Complaint After Consensual Sex

"I don't want to make any further observation in it because a case is going to be registered against the de facto complainant and the same is to be investigated by the investigating officer.The officer concerned will investigate the case, untrammelled by any observation in this order."

"But I make it clear that the state police chief will entrust the investigation of this case to a competent officer and the officer will expedite the investigation in accordance with law," a single bench of Justice P V Kunhikrishnan said in his order.

The court said the morale of the health workers in the state was affected because of this sensational news.

"In this case, I have to make an observation about the sensationalising a criminal case even at the time of registering First Information Report. The details of this case was there in the frontpage of print media and there were flash news in visual media. The morale of the health workers in the State was affected because of this sensational news"

"Now the inquiry report came.The action of the petitioner who is a junior health inspector may be morally bad.But in the light of the inquiry report, no criminal offence will attract because the lady is aged 44 years and she says that she had sex with the petitioner and it was with her consent."

"But the damage caused to the poor health workers in the state who were working day and night against the Covid-19 pandemic is irreparable," the court said while expressing hope that the print and visual media will publish the inquiry report also in its letter and spirit to give a moral boost to the health workers in the state.

The alleged rape was reported in the first week of September in Thiruvananthapuram district.Police then said the 44-year-old woman, working as a home nurse, had returned home and was asked to undergo quarantine by the health official.

She underwent an antigen test which was negative and was told by the man to collect the test certificate from his flat, the police said.

The woman, in her complaint, stated she went to his house on September 3 and was sexually assaulted after being tied and was allowed to leave only the next day.

The state women's commission had on its own registered a case against the health official and directed the state Health secretary to initiate disciplinary action against him.

While granting bail to the accused in November, the High Court had exclaimed : "Based on a false complaint, a person is in jail for about 77 days. This Court cannot shut its eye in such situations".

"I am surprised, after reading this affidavit. The registration of the above case was widely covered by the media in the State. Almost all the people in Kerala knows about this case. The allegation is that a Health Inspector committed rape on a lady when she approached him for getting certificate for Covid19 negative. After reading the first information statement given by the victim, this Court also refused bail to the petitioner because the allegation in the statement was so serious. She even stated that her both hands were tied at her back and the mouth was blocked with a dothi. Thereafter there was a forceful rape. Now this victim is deposing before this Court in a notary attested affidavit that there is no such incident and it was a consensual sexual intercourse. It is stated in the affidavit that she gave such a statement to the police because of the pressure from her relatives", Justice Kunhikrishnan had observed in the order granting bail.