Keywords: False Allegations, Rape, Allahabad High Court, Bail
The Allahabad High Court in Vivek Kumar Maurya v State & Ors ruled that genuine sexual offences are now rare and fraudulent accusations of rape are becoming more common. The court noted that girls and women falsely lodge first information reports (FIRs) against accused after being in a prolonged physical relationship.The Court, in addition, stated that social media, movies, and TV shows is promoting an “openness culture” among young boys and girls which when clashes with Indian societal values false cases results in order to protect family and girl’s honor. The Court also stated that the legislation strongly favours women over men which makes it easier to make any outrageous claims in a First Information Report and to accuse anyone of such claims, as in the present case.
The accused was charged with rape and other offenses under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act). The accused was alleged to have sexual relations with the minor girl and married her for sexual enjoyment. The accused forced the girl to have physical relationships with his cousin too.
The accused’s counsel argued that the survivor was a major and had an affair with the applicant for a year. She consented to marry the applicant and entered into a physical relationship. However, her parents took her away, leading her to leave and lodge a FIR.
The Court granted bail to the applicant due to false allegations and incorrect facts in the FIR. Justice Siddharth cautioned against considering bail petitions in such cases. The prosecutrix’s elopement with the applicant and court marriage indicated continuous consent, undermining the prosecution’s case and the bail application was allowed.
Written by- Apoorva Chandra, College name – Aligarh Muslim University Centre, Malappuram, Semester- 3rd an intern under Legal Vidhiya
[1] BAR AND BENCH, Genuine cases of sexual offences are now exception; law is heavily biased against men: Allahabad High Court (barandbench.com) (last visited on August 2, 2023)
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