A Delhi court has initiated perjury proceedings against a woman who allegedly made a false accusation of rape against a man in 2019. The case, which was tried at the Tis Hazari Court, saw Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Anuj Agrawal pull up the complainant for misusing the criminal justice system and tarnishing the accused’s reputation.
In an order passed on April 4, the court took strong exception to what it termed the woman’s “habit of filing false molestation complaints.” The complainant, a resident of Ujjain, had claimed that she was raped by the man in a Delhi hotel. However, during the trial, she failed to mention any instance of forceful sexual assault—leading the court to infer that the relationship was consensual.
The court also took note of the complainant’s past conduct, observing that she had filed at least six similar complaints across various states. In one such case, the accused was acquitted, and the woman herself had been arrested in separate cases of extortion in Amritsar and Rajasthan.
“The complainant has not only misused the legal process but also inflicted immense trauma upon the accused,” the judge remarked. “It takes one’s lifetime to build a reputation but only a few lies to destroy the same… an acquittal simplicitor cannot recompensate the agony of the accused who had to undergo the trauma of trial for such heinous offences based on a false story of sexual assault.”
The court’s decision to initiate perjury proceedings marks a rare and stern response to false allegations in cases involving serious charges like rape. Legal experts say this could signal a move towards greater scrutiny in such cases, particularly when patterns of abuse of process emerge.
Case Title: STATE vs SANDEEP KUMAR @ SANDEEP DHAIYA (SC/95/2020)
