UP Court Sentences Woman To 1653 Days In Jail For Making False Rape Allegations, Imposes Over ₹5.8 Lakh Fine

A court in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district recently convicted a woman under Section 195 IPC (Giving or fabricating false evidence) for making false accusations in court against one Ajay Kumar of rape charges in the year 2018. Additional District Judge Gyanendra Tripathi sentenced the woman to 4 years, 6 months, and 8 days (1,653 days) in prison, matching the duration for which the man (accused) had to remain behind bars due to the false accusation. Additionally, the woman has been fined around ₹5,88,822, which will be paid to the accused. The amount has been calculated based on the wages set by the Uttar Pradesh government for an unskilled labourer. Terming the incident to be a “very serious situation” for the entire society, the Court said that the provisions specifically enacted for the protection of women were grossly misused by the alleged victim against the man by using police and court as a medium for achieving her illegal objective. “Although it is appropriate and expected from the government, administration and courts to ensure the safety of women through relevant policies and laws; it does not mean that women who take unfair advantage of the same are given the freedom to attack the interests of men. Apart from this, the actions of proven guilty women, like the one presented in the case, are likely to harm the real victims of society. In such a situation, it seems appropriate to punish (the woman) with harsh punishment,” the Court said. Essentially, in September 2018, the mother of the alleged victim-woman lodged an FIR against Ajay Kumar, alleging that her daughter, 15 years of age, was kidnapped and raped by him. The alleged victim girl, in her examination-in-chief, supported the allegations made in the FIR. However, in her cross-examination, she resiled from her earlier statement and said that the alleged accused had not molested or raped her and that she gave a false statement on oath before the Court. She categorically stated that she had given the statement under section 164 CrPC under pressure from the policemen and that her mother deliberately filed a case against accused Ajay Raghav without any reason. Against this backdrop, the instant prosecution was initiated against the alleged victim-woman under Section 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. In its 16-page judgment, the Court found that the victim-woman had made false allegations against the man when no offence of rape or kidnapping had taken place, and due to her false statement, the man had to remain in Jail for over 4 years. Given this, the Court sentenced the woman to 1653 days in prison and also imposed a cost of Rs. 5.8 lakh (to be paid to Ajay under Section 357 CrPC)

UP Court Sentences Woman To 1653 Days In Jail For Making False Rape Allegations, Imposes Over ₹5.8 Lakh Fine

Sparsh Upadhyay

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