Representative image
Delhi court stated as it opened a perjury trial against a woman that women who use the legal system to make false accusation of rape should face significant consequences. “…this court is of the considered opinion that it is in the interest of justice that cognizance of the offence of giving false evidence is taken…,” said additional sessions judge Jagmohan Singh in an order on February 3.
Here’s the case
The woman said she was kidnapped and raped by three men, and one Satish. She said they threatened to send her in-laws images and videos of her in her underwear in order to defame her. The woman accused Satish of threatening to use her as a witness in a bigamy case if she filed a complaint and of pretending to have a forged marriage certificate.
The Delhi court in February 2016 framed charges against the four including under Indian Penal Code’s Sections 376(2)(n) (repeated rape), 366 (kidnapping and inducing marriage), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 344 (wrongful confinement for 10 or more days), 34 (common intention), 376D (gang rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Also Read: NIA Conducts Raids Across 7 States in Bengaluru Prison Radicalization Case
The court figured the truth
The four were found not guilty by the court, which later determined that the woman’s testimony lacked credibility due to inconsistencies and improbabilities. It noted that she had married Satish at an Arya Samaj Temple while hiding her previous marriage, which was the reason for filing the false rape case. According to the court, Satish intended to sue her.
The woman claimed that on November 29, 2012, she was kidnapped and taken to Karnal, where she was gang-raped and held captive until December 10, 2012. The priest’s evidence was cited by the court, which stated that she was in Delhi at the time of her marriage to Satish’s solemnization. The court concluded that her testimony was blatantly false.
In an audio call recording that the court played, she was heard addressing another accused person, Kuldeep, as mamaji, or uncle, and having a polite conversation with him. The prosecution was found to have failed to establish the rape allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
