IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

APPELLATE CIVIL JURISDICTION

PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO.

OF 2014

In the matter of Article 226 and 227 of the

Constitution of India:
And
In the matter of violation of violation of
Article 21 of the Constitution of India
And
In the matter of false complaint of rape
being filed by women

Association for aiding Justice

A proposed nonprofit making company

Through its authorized signatory

Mr. Ram Keswani having its office address )

at 326, M. G. Road, Ashok Vijay Camp,

Pune- 411 001

Versus
1. Union Of India

Through Ministry of Home Affairs

To be served at Ayakar Bhavan, Churchgate, )

..Petitioner

Mumbai

2. State of Maharastra

Through Ministry of Home Affairs

On Government Pleader/Addl. Solicitor

General of Maharashtra, having their office )

at High Court, Bombay

3. Present Commissioner of Police having its)

office at Carforwd market, Mumbai.

4. Director General of Police, Maharashtra )

State Police having its headquarters at Old

Council Hall, Mumbai- 400 001

Respondents

TO,
THE HONBLE CHIEF JUSTICE AND
THE HONBLE PUISNE JUDGES OF
THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE

PETITIONERS ABOVENAMED

MOST RESPECTFULLY SHEWETH :

1. The Petitioner is the NGO working for the welfare and protection of the
people at general without any caste description and has been working
since 2 years with sole aim and object for the rights of the citizens of the
country. The organization helps in creating awareness about among the
citizens about their fundamental rights and with respect to the present
and the current issue in the city. The Petitioner is having its office at the
address as mentioned in the cause title.

2. The Respondent no. 1 is the Union of India through ministry of home

affairs looking after the internal security of the nation, demographics.
Respondent No. 2 is the state of Maharashtra through ministry of home
affairs looking after the internal security of the state, demographics and
Respondent no. 3 is the Director General of Police having its Head
Quarters at Mumbai is responsible for law and order, administration,
internal security, general training and discipline of the Police Force and
its efficient functioning.

3. The Petitioner states that Rape in India is the fourth most common
crime against women in India. According to the National Crime Records
Bureau 2013 annual report, 24,923 rape cases were reported across India
in 2012. Out of these, 24,470 were committed by relative or neighbor; in
other words, the victim knew the alleged rapist in 98 per cent of the
cases. According to 2012 statistics, New Delhi has the highest number
of rape-reports among Indian cities, while Jabalpur has the per capita
incidence of reported rapes. Several rape cases in India received

widespread media attention and triggered protests since 2012. This led
the Government of India to reform its penal code for crimes of rape and
sexual assault. Compared to other developed and developing countries,
incidence rates of rape per 100,000 people are quite low in India. The
National Crime Records Bureau suggests a rape rate of 2 per 100,000
people. This compares to 8.1 rapes per 100,000 people in Western
Europe, 14.7 per 100,000 in Latin America and 40.2 per 100,000 in
Southern African region. Marital rape is not a criminal offence in India.

4. The Petitioner states that annual rape and all forms of sexual assaults per
100,000 people, for India compared to select nations. Rape was defined
in Indian criminal code during the British Raj. The definition was
revised many times. In recent decades, before February 3 2103, the
Indian penal code defined rape under Article 375 as:
375. Rape. A man is said to commit "rape" who, except case hereinafter
excepted, has sexual intercourse with a woman circumstances falling
under any of the six following descriptions:First. Against her will.
Secondly. Without her consent.
Thirdly. With her consent, when her consent has been obtained by
putting her or any person in whom she is interested in the under in fear of
death or of hurt.
Fourthly. With her consent, when the man knows that he is not her
husband, and that her consent is given because she believes that he is
another man to whom she is or believes herself to be lawfully married.

Fifthly. With her consent, when, at the time of giving such consent, by
reason of unsoundness of mind or intoxication or the administration by
him personally or through another of any stupefying or unwholesome
substance, she is unable to understand the nature and consequences of
that to which she gives consent.
Sixthly. With or without her consent, when she is under sixteen years
of age.
Explanation. Penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual
intercourse necessary to the offence of rape.
Exception. Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife
not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.
The above definition excluded marital rape, same sex crimes and considered all
sex with a minor below the age of 16 as rape. Effective February 3 2013, the
definition was expanded to include same sex crimes and raised the age of
consent to age 18. Rape is now included as a crime of sexual assault, which is
currently defined for the purposes of Indian penal code as:

375. A person is said to commit sexual assault if that person (a)

penetrates his penis, to any extent, into the vagina, mouth urethra or
anus of another person or makes the person to do so with him or any
other person; or (b) inserts, to any extent, any object or a part of the
body, not being the penis, into the vagina, the urethra or anus of
another person or makes the person to do so with him or any other
person; or (c) manipulates any part of the body of another person so as
to cause penetration into the vagina, urethra, anus or any part of body
of such person or makes the person to do so with him or any other

person; or (d) applies his mouth to the penis, vagina, anus, urethra of
another person or makes such person to do so with him or any other
person; (e) touches the vagina, penis, anus or breast of the person or
makes the person touch the vagina, penis, anus or breast of that person
or any other person, except where such penetration or touching is
carried out for proper hygienic or medical purposes under the
circumstances falling under any of the following seven descriptions:
First. Against the other persons will.
Secondly. Without the other persons consent.
Thirdly. With the other persons consent when such consent has
been obtained by putting such other person or any person in whom
such other person is interested, in fear of death or of hurt.
Fourthly. When the person assaulted is a female, with her consent,
when the man knows that he is not her husband and that her consent is
given because she believes that he is another man to whom she is or
believes to be lawfully married.
Fifthly. With the consent of the other person when, at the time of
giving such consent, by reason of unsoundness of mind or intoxication
or the administration by that person personally or through another of
any stupefying or unwholesome substance, the other person is unable
to understand the nature and consequences of that action to which such
other person gives consent.
Sixthly. With or without the other persons consent, when such
other person is under eighteen years of age.

Seventhly. When the person is unable to communicate consent.

Explanation 1. Penetration to any extent is penetration for the
purposes of this section.
Explanation 2. For the purposes of this section, vagina shall also
include labia majora.
Explanation 3. Consent means an unequivocal voluntary agreement
when the person by words, gestures or any form of non-verbal
communication, communicates willingness to participate in the
specific act: provided that, a person who does not physically resist to
the act of penetration shall not by the reason only of that fact, be
regarded as consenting to the sexual activity.
Exception. Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own
wife, the wife not being under sixteen years of age, is not sexual
assault.

Even after the 2013 reform, marital rape is not a crime in India. However, it is
considered a form of prosecutable domestic violence under different sections of
Indian penal code, such as Section 498(A) as well as the Articles of Domestic
Violence Act, 2005.

5. The Petitioner states that tend from 2001 to 2012, total rapes and rape
rates per 100,000 people for India. According to National Crime
Records Bureau of India, 24,923 rape cases were reported across India
in 2012, while the 5 year average over 2007-2011 was 22,000 rapes a

year. Adjusted for population growth over time, the annual rape rate in
India has increased from 1.9 to 2.0 per 100,000 people over 2008-2012
period. This compares to a reported rape rate of 1.2 per 100,000 in
Japan, 3.6 per 100,000 in Morocco, 4.6 rapes per 100,000 in Bahrain,
12.3 per 100,000 in Mexico, 24.1 per 100,000 in United Kingdom, 28.6
per 100,000 in United States, and world's highest rate of 114.9 rapes per
100,000 in South Africa. Total reported number of rape crimes in 2012
were highest in Madhya Pradesh, followed by Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal. Among major cities, Delhi reported the highest number of rapes
in 2012, followed by Mumbai. Adjusted for population, the rape rate per
100,000 people was highest in Mizoram (10.4), followed by Tripura,
Meghalaya, Sikkim and Assam. Among major cities, Delhi's rape rate of
4.1 per 100,000 people was highest in India. The rape rate per 100,000
people was lowest in Gujarat (0.98), followed by Bihar, Karnataka,
Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The highest number of victims, and
majority of victims, were in the 18-30 year age group. Overall 96% of
the rape cases led to charges and the offender being prosecuted.
However, Indian courts completed the trial process for only 14,717 rape
cases in 2012, thus many cases remained pending in its trial process.

6. The Petitioner states that Indian law was expanded in 2013 to consider
rape as any acts like penetration by penis, or any object or any part of
body to any extent, into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a woman
or any person or making her to do so with another person or applying of
mouth to sexual organs without the consent or will of the woman
constitutes the offence of rape. The section has also clarified that
penetration means "penetration to any extent", and lack of physical
resistance is immaterial for constituting an offence. Except in certain

aggravated situation the punishment will be imprisonment not less than

seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall
also be liable to fine.

7. The Petitioner states that in aggravated situations, punishment will be

rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years
but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable
to fine. A new section, 376A has been added which states that if a
person committing the offence of sexual assault, "inflicts an injury
which causes the death of the person or causes the person to be in a
persistent

vegetative

state,

shall

be

punished

with

rigorous

imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but
which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean the
remainder of that persons natural life, or with death."[65] In the case of
"gang rape", persons involved regardless of their gender shall be
punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less
than twenty years, but which may extend to life and shall pay
compensation to the victim which shall be reasonable to meet the
medical expenses and rehabilitation of the victim. Certain changes has
been introduced in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 and Indian
Evidence Act, like the recording of statement of the victim has been
made more friendly and easy, character of the victim is irrelevant for
consideration, presumption of no consent where sexual intercourse is
proved and the victim states in the court that there has been no consent,
etc. The age of consent in India has been increased to 18 years, which
means any sexual activity irrespective of presence of consent with a
woman below the age of 18 will constitute statutory rape. Although, the
decision of death penalty for the most extreme rape cases was approved

by the Indian parliament, marital rape is still not accepted as a criminal

offense within Indian legal framework, except during the period of
judicial separation of the partners. In the 1980s, women's rights groups
lobbied for marital rape to be declared unlawful, as until 1983, the
criminal law (amendment) act stated that "sexual intercourse by a man
with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age is not
rape". The government officials argued that the contract of marriage
presumes consent to sex and that criminalising marital rape in turn
would weaken family values in India. The Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA) which came into force in 2006,
provides protection against marital rape or other forms of sexual
perversions and domestic violence. However, it offers only a civil
remedy for the offence.

8. The Petitioner states that before carrying out amendment fears has been
expressed that strengthening of the law against sexual offenses after the
Nirbhaya case has also led to an increase in false cases. Now, there's
some evidence to support this claim. Statistics on the disposal of rape
cases in Delhi's trial courts show a sharp increase in the acquittal rate
after

the

infamous

December

16,

2012,

gang

rape.

9. The Petitioner states that in April 2013, for the first time Additional
Sessions Judge Virender Bhat noted that the legal principle of reliance
on the sole testimony of the victim had become "an easy weapon" to
implicate anyone in a case of rape. Justice Kailash Ghambhir of the
Delhi High Court stated that penal provisions for rape are often being
misused by women as a "weapon for vengeance and vendetta" to harass

and blackmail their male friends by filing false cases to extort money
and to force them get married.

10. The Petitioner states that Menace of false rape cases on the pretext of
one or other has been rising since the new amendment in rape law in the
2013 in India. The fact is evident from the study of court judgments
delivered by the fast track courts constituted across the country
including Delhi and news items appearing in the media. There is need to
put early check on this rising menace which may destroy fabric of
society and misuse of law for various motives.
A news item published on you tube website is an eye opener, it reads as
25 false rape cases in Punjab within a week after Delhi Gang rape
case...Actually the women

was in jail accused for giving a HIV

injection to a child with a man.....the youth didn't

get bail but this

women got bail for such a heinous crime because she was a
women.....There has been a sudden and bound to happen hike in
registering of false rape cases with sensitizing of police for rape
cases after Delhi Gang rape case of 16 December 2012 ....But now after
many strict laws implemented and making of strict laws against rape a
person should be prepared for such false cases against him and
prepare to go behind bars for nothing after a bad Dowry law and new
tool and is being made for women to misuse against innocent men.

11. The Petitioner clarifies that they are not against these strict for women
laws but if such is the implementation then the situation is
alarming.......!!!!
Case Laws:
Illustration 1:

A news items is more alarming, it reported that A Moga woman's story of her
kidnapping from Chandigarh and dumping here after gang rape in a moving car
has turned out to false. She posed as victim to frame her boyfriend's wife who
had got her into prison on the accusation of attempted murder by poking with
HIV-infected needles. She was out on bail when she made up the story. Along
with suspect Gurveer Kaur (24), the police have also arrested Rohtash Kumar,
who claimed to have brought the woman to hospital in her unconscious state.
Suspects Gurveer Kaur, Rohtash, Ramesh, and Sunil Kumar are charged under
Sections 420 (cheating), 195 (submitting false evidence to get someone
imprisoned for life), 211 (false charge with intent to injure) and 120-B (criminal
conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The plan also involved consensual
sex between Gurveer Kaur and Rohtash Kumar to make it easy to prove
rape.
Illustration 2:
It is the case of the prosecutrix that she is a divorce and she was working as
instructor with the organization of Art of Living where alleged accused was also
working. They came in contact with each other. The acquaintance had
developed into love. The prosecutrix has alleged that the alleged accused had
promised to marry her and she had faith in him. Hence, they had also developed
sexual intimacy and were having sexual relations from May 2012 to March
2013.
The prosecutrix had insisted to marry with him. He had only assured her that he
will fulfil the promise but did not fulfil the same. According to the prosecutrix,
she had consented to have sexual relations with the alleged accused,
subsequently he had refused to marry her & therefore she felt cheated and
according to her, her consent cannot be taken into consideration. [Para 2]

Since 12th May 2013 he had started behaving indifferently with her which was
the reason for suspected his bonafides. She had tried her best to seek
information about him but in vain.
On the basis of her report Crime No.168 of 2013 is registered at Rafiq Ahamed
Kidwai Marg Police Station for the offence punishable under Section 376 and
417 of IPC.
The prosecutrix further submited that she had to gather courage to file the
complaint against the alleged accused and she felt that he should be punished
and sent to jail for the offences committed by him. It was an admitted position
that the prosecutrix was also a divorcee she was divorced in March 2013.
It was submits on behalf of the alleged accused that the prosecutrix was fully
aware about his status. He had no intention to cheat her. He had developed
relation with her only after he was divorced.
It was submitted that the prosecutrix was working as Inspector in Central
Excise Department. She was 42 years old, whereas the alleged accused was 35
years old. There was vast difference in their age. It was further submitted that
the relationship was based on mutual understanding and mutual consent. There
was no element of promise to marry. J Indian Acad Forensic Med. JulySeptember 2013, Vol. 35, No. 3 ISSN 0971-0973

Bombay High Court observed that it was further submitted on behalf of the
alleged accused that he may not totally deny the relationship which he had with
the prosecutrix. However, it appears that they could not pull on and hence
parted ways. He got remarried on 18th May 2013 with one Divya.
Courts attention was drawn to the fact that the alleged accused has got married
on 18th May 2013 and the first information report was lodged on 06/06/2013 to
ventilate the grievance.
The prosecutrix stated before the High Court that the looks of the alleged
accused were so deceptive that she was bound to believe that he would marry
her.
It was further submitted on behalf of the alleged accused that he is no more
working with the said organization i.e. Art of Living which is admitted by
learned APP; therefore, there is no question of tampering evidence. The
applicant is working in a private company, whereas the complainant is a
Government Servant, who is working as Inspector in Central Excise
Department.
The fact that the prosecutrix admits that she had consented for sexual relations,
it cannot be inferred at this stage, that she was ravished by the alleged accused.
The element of cheating can be considered at the trial after adducing
substantive evidence.
Bombay High Court observed that as prima face case was made for the grant of
pre-arrest bail to the alleged accused and that in-spite of sympathy with the
prosecutrix, the alleged accused cannot be sent to custody as it would not serve
any fruitful purpose except to satisfy vendetta of the prosecutrix.
Illustration 3:
This case unfolds the sad and sordid story of a frail and traumatized person; old
aged 75 years who has been arrested and prosecuted for the offence of rape
which he had not committed at all. The poor old man had to suffer incarceration

in jail for six months before he was released on bail by this court for absolutely
no fault and besides that had to suffer the ignominy and humiliation at the
hands of his friends and relatives for having been arraigned as an accused in a
rape case.
It would be limpid from the following discussion that a false rape case was
slapped upon the accused, who was residing alone, his wife having already
expired and children living separately, merely to extract money from him and/or
to usurp his property. However, let me first describe the prosecution case.
Trial Court observed that The testimony of the prosecutrix clearly
demonstrates that she had levelled false allegations of rape against the accused
at the instance of two other prosecution witnesses. It is amply manifest that the
accused had not committed rape upon the prosecutrix and a false story of rape
had been cooked up by prosecutrix and at the instance prosecution witness who
lodged the complaint against the accused. It is further evident that mastermind
prosecution witness wanted to usurp the house of the accused by ensuring that
he remains in jail for a long time.
It is a matter of intense regret that even the frail and sick aged persons are not
spared from the false allegations of rape. There can be nothing more
discomforting and painful than false accusation of rape against a fragile old
man who has already seen 75 summers. Right since the day, when the accused
was produced before me for the first time, I wondered how such a frail old man,
who cannot even stand straight, would rape a young lady in her mid thirties,
having lot more strength than the accused. I suspected something fishy right
since day one and my suspicion came true in the deposition of the prosecutrix.
A grandfatherly figure had to suffer humiliation amongst his children
neighbours etc. besides suffering jail term of about six months on false charges
of rape.

12. The Petitioner states that while in 2012, the acquittal rate in rape cases
was 46%, in the first eight months of 2013 (for which exact figures are
available) it shot up to 75%. It was noted by experts that acquittals
remain high this year as well, accounting for around 70% of the cases.
Legal experts say the high acquittal rates are because of a spurt in the
number of false rape cases being filed. The observations of judges in
acquittal

cases

also

bear

this

out.

"This is an unfortunate trend. In many cases, women come up with the

plea that they had registered the case out of anger and due to
misunderstanding," was commented by additional public prosecutor A T
Ansari, one of the main prosecutors in the Nirbhaya case. It is been
observed by many advocates that, Registration of false cases is rampant
and hence, the alarming acquittal rate. The new law is being misused
because of the widened definition of rape."

13. Experts feel the amended law is "widely-worded" and "ambiguous" in

parts and lends itself to misuse. "In around 90% of acquittal cases, the
victim turns hostile. Mostly, it turns out to be a case of a relationship
gone bad. The sex is consensual but the victim claims that the consent
was given on account of promise of marriage," said a senior public
prosecutor on condition of anonymity. Other reasons for registering
false cases seem to range from extortion, recovery of dues, property
disputes

and

extra-marital

affairs.

Laws dealing with sexual offences against women were strengthened

post Nirbhaya incident to provide speedy justice and greater security to
women. Ironically, the conviction rates were higher when the laws were
less stern.

14. The Petitioner states that there should have been an exception to the
false promise of marriage concept because that is the excuse which is
mostly taken up by women to register false cases even though the sex
was

consensual,"

Though there is a provision to prosecute people for perjury if they lie in

court, its rarely exercised to prosecute women in these false cases. "The
courts generally don't use this discretion because they don't want
genuine victims to be wary of approaching courts for justice". Worried
over the disturbing trend of false complaints, even fast track courts
trying cases of sexual offenses have been raising concerns over the
matter.

15. The Petitioner states that In July last year, while acquitting a 75-year-old
man of the charges of raping his maid, a fast track court observed that
the capital has earned the notoriety of India's rape capital because of the
increase in false rape cases being registered in the city. The alleged
victim in this case had admitted that she registered the case because she
wanted to usurp the accused's property. In January this year, it need was
expressed for empowering courts to order compensation for persons
who get implicated in false cases. The judge, while acquitting a man of
rape charges registered by a married woman in March 2013, remarked it
was "a voluntary liaison" which was turned into a rape charge after the
woman's husband pressured her into lodging a complaint. Recently,
Court has observed that there was a trend of registering false complaints
by women who wanted to save themselves embarrassment after an
extra-marital affair.

16. The Petitioner states that it was reported in Times of India Rajasthan in
last year that Over 35% of the total rape cases were found fake after
police investigation last year. The trend continues this year too with the
police closing as many as 79 out of total 608 cases registered in
February. Of them, chargesheets were filed in 73 cases, while
investigation is pending in 456 others. The police every year find a
majority of rape cases false and file final report (FR) in them. The case
of extortion of the chairman of Rajasthan Dental College Dr Jitendra
Singh Faujdar by a woman on the basis of a CD showing him in
compromising position has exposed how the law is being misused.

A senior police officer told TOI that awareness regarding rape laws has
increased after some heinous cases were highlighted in the media over
the past few months. "However, it opened a floodgate of false cases too.
Several FIRs are being registered to take revenge or undue advantage by
women across the state," said the officer.

17. The Petitioner states that recently Delhi court frees man in rape case,
says it was extra-marital affair When a woman herself is not in a
capacity to marry another man during the subsistence of her marriage,
then why should her paramour be prosecuted, incarcerated and be tried
for rape when it is actually just an extra-marital affair. "This kind of
unscrupulous litigation is required to be nipped in the bud itself,"
Additional Sessions Judge Nivedita Anil Sharma said, adding with
changing times, the understanding of "morality" is also changing. The
court acquitted Moti Nagar resident Samir of the charges of rape and
cheating, saying there is no material on record that the 25-year-old
woman was forced into physical relations by the accused on a false

promise of marriage. "In fact what emerges from the evidence of

prosecutrix is that there appears to be an element of an extra-marital
affair between her and the accused which came within the knowledge of
her husband due to which she left or was made to leave her matrimonial
home and consequently the rape case was lodged (against accused)
probably to save embarrassment for herself and maintain relations with
her husband," the court said. According to the prosecution, the woman
filed a complaint with the police alleging that from January to April 20,
this year, Samir repeatedly raped her on the false promise that he would
marry her. In her statement in court, the woman said whenever she used
to go to the terrace of her house, Samir used to follow her and try to
develop friendship with her. The woman claimed that as she was
married, she did not pay heed to him but he threatened that he would
consume poison and asked her to marry him. One day, he took her to his
friend's house where they entered into a physical relationship, and
thereafter they met each other several times, she said. When Samir went
to Bihar for a few days, her husband came to know about the
relationship and turned her out of the house. When she informed Samir
about it, he too abused her and refused to marry her, she alleged. The
court, however, said the woman's version was "inconsistent and
contradictory" and the circumstances reveal that she had established
physical relations with Samir on her own and there is nothing on record
to show that he ever committed any offence, as alleged. It seems that in
order to save her marriage, the prosecutrix has lodged the case against
the accused, putting the entire blame on him, the judge said. "It is
saddening to note that when the prosecutrix, a married woman, gets
involved in an extra-marital affair, in order to save her marriage, she is
projecting herself to be a victim and her paramour to be a culprit and

guilty of raping her on a false promise of marriage when she herself

cannot marry another man," the judge observed.

18. The Petitioner states that in one of the similar case a man accused of
repeatedly raping his neighbour, who later became pregnant, has been
acquitted by a Delhi court on the ground that the girl has turned hostile
and refuted allegations of rape. Additional Sessions Judge let off Delhi
resident Sugad Singh saying the alleged victim has deposed falsely
against him on the instigation of one of her neighbour who had some
property dispute with him. "In the present case, prosecutrix is the main
witness of the incident and in her cross examination she has completely
resiled from her statement recorded in examination in chief. Even her
mother has deposed that her daughter had falsely registered the FIR
against the accused at the instance of one Tek Chand who is having
disputes with the accused. "Even the MLC of the victim does not
support her. Hence, the statement of the girl is unbelievable,
untrustworthy and cannot be relied upon to convict the accused," the
court said. The court also observed that the girl had turned hostile and
had stated that the allegations of rape are false. Singh was arrested by
the police on a complaint of the victim, who had alleged that in May last
year, while she was sleeping on the roof of her house, the accused had
raped her and also threatened to kill her if she tells to anyone. "The
victim did not make complaint to anybody under fear. After around five
days, Singh again called her in a room in his house and committed
rape," the police said, adding that she became pregnant. "She was taken
to hospital where the doctor opined that she was carrying pregnancy of
two months," the police added. During the trial, Singh claimed that there

is a property dispute between him and Tek Chand and due to this, Chand
had instigated the girl to level false allegations against him.

19. The Petitioner states that penal provisions on rape have been misused by
some women who develop consensual physical relationship with their
lovers and after the breakup file false rape cases to force them to marry
them,

the

Delhi

High

Court

has

said.

Delhi High Court has also observed that said rape law was often
misused by women as weapon for "vengeance and vendetta" to harass
and blackmail their male friends by filing false cases to extort money
and to force them to marry them. "Many of the cases are being reported
by those women who have consensual physical relationship with a man
but when the relationship breaks due to one reason or the other, the
women use the law as a weapon for vengeance and personal vendetta to
extort money and sometimes even to force the boy to get married to
them,"

the

court

said

in

recent

order.

"Out of anger and frustration, they tend to convert such consensual sex
as an incident of rape, defeating the very purpose of the provision,". In
many of the cases it is been observed that the woman first agrees to have
consensual sex but she files a rape case against her boyfriend when the
relationship breaks up in order to "force him to get married.

20. The Petitioner states that the sufferings of accused of false rape charges
even after acquittal is to be stated in following words: Can the lost
honour and dignity of the poor old accused be restored? Can he spend
the 'Sanyas Ashram' of his life as peacefully as he would have, had he
not been arraigned as accused in this case. Certainly the memories of
this false case, horrible days spent in jail and presence in court during

hearings would hound him like a ghost for the remaining part of his life.
He would not command that much respect and reverence in his family,
which he used to before the present case.

These 'victims' of false

rape cases cannot be forgotten. A false allegation of rape creates havoc

in the life of the accused. His whole future is shattered, his family faces
isolation & ridicule and his life destroyed. It is very difficult to come out
of the shock, trauma ridicule and humiliation of having been arraigned
in a rape case, even after the acquittal by the court.

21. The Petitioner states that in news papers of Delhi it the incident was
published as under:A spurt in false cases has earned Delhi notoriety as the country's 'rape
capital', a court here observed while acquitting a 75-year-old man of the
charge of sexually assaulting his maid. The court said things have come
to such a pass after the Nirbhaya gang rape in December that the mere
statement of a woman about rape is taken as gospel truth, the accused
arrested and chargesheeted. "This led to an unprecedented surge in
filing of false rape cases... It is these false cases which play havoc with
the crime statistics, leading to the labeling of Delhi as a rape capital,"
The Hon'ble Delhi court observed that as acquittals in such cases are
hardly ever reported, the falsely implicated persons lose their honour,
dignity and status in society, and while these cannot be restored, "these
victims" can be compensated so that they can start life afresh.
It also noted that "it is a matter of intense regret that even the frail, sick
and aged persons are not spared the false allegation of rape".
The prosecution claimed Sharma and his neighbour Anita became
friends when they met in a hospital where his ailing wife was admitted.
After Sharma's wife died, Anita arranged a maid for him. The woman,

who is in her 30s, alleged that a few days after she started working for
Sharma in July 2012, he raped her and then bought her silence with the
promise of marriage. They remained in a sexual relationship, she
claimed, till the time Sharma reneged on his promise. She lodged a
police complaint on October 11, 2012. However, during the trial, the
woman turned hostile and said she had leveled false allegations at the
behest of Anita and another person, Kuldeep, to usurp Sharma's
property. Expressing the need for courts to be empowered to award
compensation to false rape case victims, the judge also lamented that the
media

turn

blind

eye

to

acquittals

in

such

cases.

"Nobody bothers to see in how many cases the accused are convicted.
The acquittal of an accused is not noticed at all and he continues to be
labeled

'rapist'

even

after

his

honorable

acquittal."

The judge also said that right from the day the accused was first
produced before him, he had wondered, "How such a frail old man, who
cannot even stand straight, would rape a young lady in her mid-30s,
having lot more strength than the accused".

22. The Petitioner states that "Cases like these not only make a mockery of
the sacred institution of marriage but also inflate the statistics of rape
cases which further deprecates our own society

23. The Petitioner states that false rape complaints is a menace to the
society and stringent action should be taken against them, the NCRB
data below speaks for itself.

24. The Petitioner states that in a news article published it is been noted that
"a little less than 20% of sexual-assault cases reported in and around
Delhi are false, shows a five-year study. In almost every fifth incident,
or, in 18.3 % cases to be precise, rape is used as a weapon to malign and
attempt revenge, found a group of psychologists who assist Delhi Police
in investigating sexual assault allegations. The conclusion was drawn
from 113 cases in the last five years. Anger towards the accused
prompted allegations of rape in 25% of the false charges. An equal
number of such cases were filed at the behest of family members. Every
fifth false allegation was made by a minor `coached' to cry `rape' as an
attempt to settle family scores. About 15% were situations of panic after
clear consent, while the remaining 15% defied categorisation.
In September 2007, the Supreme Court had alerted lower courts to
attempts at misusing the rape law, noting "the courts should bear in
mind that false charges of rape are not uncommon.''

25. The Petitioner states that Every year, several women filing rape
complaints after the men they consented to have sex with reneged on
their promise to marry them. In fact, a Crime Investigation Department
report released in November 2013 listed "sex after a false promise of
marriage" as the leading category within registered rape cases in
Maharashtra.

26. The Petitioner states that technically, there is no clause in the Indian
Penal Code that specifically labels the breach of a marriage promise as
rape. Section 90, while defining "consent" in general, states that if
consent is given under a misconception of fact and if the perpetrator is
aware of this, then it cannot be deemed as consent. Courts across the
country often use this section of the Indian Penal Code to interpret cases
of rape and breach of promise.

27. The Petitioner states that over the years, courts have come up with
varying judgements, although most tend to interpret breach of promise
as rape. In November 2013, for instance, the Supreme Court awarded
life imprisonment to a man from Muzaffarnagar for having sexual
relations with a woman for two years by leading her to believe he would
marry her. By not eventually marrying her, the Court ruled that the man
had committed a breach of trust and used her body as a "plaything".
There are times, however, when courts have acquitted men of rape
charges or classified such cases as cheating. Women's activist Kavita
Krishnan is clear that Section 375 (4) should not be invoked in cases of
breach of promise to marry. "It should apply in very specific
circumstances, such as a man deceiving a woman about his identity or
trying to pass off a fake marriage," said Krishnan, the secretary of the

All India Progressive Women's Association. In cases of breach of

promise, if marriage were to make everything alright, she believes it
would be unfair to term it as rape. "For this, we should offer civil
damages," she said. Other experts believe breach of promise is still a
grey zone, especially in situations where men and women have had a
mutual understanding about the kind of sexual relationship they are in.
It may not always be a case of rape, although it is important to keep in
mind the differential locations that men and women occupy in society,
thereby suggesting that the impact of the sexual relationship before
marriage or with the promise to marry (consensual or forced), is always
different

on

the

two.

The bone of contention for feminists is the perception of consent in

cases of breach of promise. The assumption in Indian society is that
women are raised to think they can only have sex within marriage, and
that they would never give their consent if marriage was not on the
horizon. By locating respectability in marriage and not consent, this
notion takes away the sexual agency of women.

28. The Petitioner states that Pre-marital sex is "immoral" and against the
"tenets of every religion", but it is to be noticed that every act of sexual
intercourse between two adults on the promise of marriage does not
become rape if the assurance or promise is not fulfilled later on by the
boy," as "When a grown up, educated and office-going woman subjects
herself to sexual intercourse with a friend or colleague on the latter's
promise that he would marry her, she does so at her own peril. She must
be taken to understand the consequences of her act and must know that
there is no guarantee that the boy would fulfil his promise. "He may or
may not do so. She must understand that she is engaging in an act which

not only is immoral but also against the tenets of every religion. No
religion in the world allows pre-marital sex,". That the woman being a
mature, educated and employed lady, should understand the nature and
consequence of sexual indulgence with him and agreed to have sexual
intercourse only on account of her love and passion for him and not
solely on account of any alleged misrepresentation."

29. In the strange world of consent in India, perhaps the greatest legal
oddity is found in cases where women consented to sex on the promise
of marriage. If the women were duped, that consent can retroactively be
denied. Just a few days ago, a man in Nagpur was arrested under rape
charges after he cheated a 30-year-old woman by having physical
relationship with her on assurance of marriage.

30. The Petitioner states that Until the notion of consent is updated,
innocents will be charged of rape and the guilty will not receive the
punishment they deserve.

31. The Petitioner further states that women who are filing false complaint
of rape should understand pain and situation which they suffer as same
is not a joke, do not use the same as a weapon to take out own personal
grievance and anger.

32. The Petitioner states that even the period in which the complaint is been
lodged by the complainant is need to be considered as after a period of
around of 3 to 5 years complaints are been lodged.

33. The Petitioner has no adverse interest and the same is filed by the
Petitioner as a Public Interest Litigation as the issue raised in the
petition is concern of every individual in the city.

34. The Petitioner has not filed any other petition in this Honble Court or in
the Honble Supreme Court of India wherein the impugned actions are
subject matter of challenge.

35. The petitioner states the Petition is filed for the whole of the India and
as the issue raised in the Petition are with respect to the incidents took
place in the state of Maharashtra the Honble court has the Jurisdiction
to entertain the issued raised in the present petition.

36. The Petitioner has paid the fixed court fees of Rs.250/-

37. The Petitioner will rely upon documents a list whereof is hereto
annexed.

The Petitioner, therefore, prays:

(a)

that this Honble Court be pleased to issue a writ of

mandamus or a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other

appropriate writ, order or direct Respondents to frame a statutory
guidelines for the Police authority for entertaining complaint
lodged for rape on the allegation of false promise of marriage;

(b)

that this Honble Court be pleased to issue a writ of

mandamus or a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other

appropriate writ, order or direct Respondents to frame guidelines
for conducting preliminary enquiry complaint of rape lodged on
the allegation of false promise of marriage;

(c)

for ad-interim reliefs in terms of prayer clauses (b)

above;

(d)

for costs;

(e)

for such other and further reliefs as the nature and

circumstances of the case may require.

Advocate for the Petitioner

Petitioner

V E R I F I C AT I O N
I, Mr. Ram Keshvani, authorized signatory, of the Association
for Aiding Justice, the Petitioner above named, do hereby solemnly
declare and state that whatever is stated in paragraphs No. 1 to 32 are
true to my own knowledge and whatever is stated in the rest of
paragraphs are stated on information and legal advice and I believe the
same to be true.

Solemnly declared at Pune

Be fore the Notary Public

aforesaid dated this, the

day of ____June 2014.

)
Before me,

Advocate for Petitioner

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT

BOMBAY
APPELLATE CIVIL JURISDICTION
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO.
Association for aiding Justice

OF 2014
..Petitioner

Versus
State of Maharashtra & Ors

..Respondents

---------------------------------------------------------PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION

--------------------------------------------------------Dated this ___ day of June 2014

Dipesh U. Siroya
Advocate for Petitioner
27, Western India Building,
3rd floor, Sir P. M. Road, Fort
Mumbai- 400 001