High court quashes rape charges against Mumbai youth

Source – timesofindia.indiatimes.com

MUMBAI: Seven months after a Mumbai-based financial consultant was booked on rape charges, the victim girl appeared before the Bombay high court to give her consent to quashing the criminal proceedings saying she now realised they could not get married since both of them belonged to different religions. A division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Sarang Kotwal struck down the first information report registered at Gorai police station.

The 24 year old call centre employee from Andheri told the court that she did not want to proceed with the case against the 25-year-old youth from Kandivli. “It is true that the offence under section 376 of Indian Penal Code is of serious nature and is an offence against the society. Consequently, such an offence cannot be quashed by consent,” said the bench. The HC however pointed to a Supreme Court order that it cannot decline to quash an FIR by consent only because serious charges or an offence in the society is alleged. The court can accept a settlement and order the dropping of charges if serious provisions are unneceaasrily included in the chargesheet.

The bench perused the FIR that alleged that the youth had induced her to have a physical relationship on the promise of marriage but had subsequently gone back on his word. “The FIR discloses that (accused and the victim) are adults and their relationship was consensual. Therefore, the offence punishable under section 376 is not made out. Consequently, no fruitful purpose will be served by continuing with the prosecution,” said the judges, adding ” we find that no purpose would be served by keeping the criminal proceedings pending except burdening the criminal Courts which are already overburdened.”

According to the case, the youth and the girl had met at a mobile phone store in 2015. Later he sent her a Facebook request and started chatting with her. In September 2016, he took her to a resort in Gorai and allegedly had sexual untercourse after promising marriage. Subsequently, he started avoiding her and refused to marry her. In December 2016, the girl lodged a case at Gorai police station alleging rape and cheating. The HC granted the youth pre-arrest bail in April 2017.

He filed a fresh plea before the high court that “with the help and intervention of family members, friends and well-wishers, the couple had amicably settled their differences by way of mutual settlement,” and she had consented for the dropping of the charges. The girl also filed an affidavit before the court that she and the youth were good friends and had lodged the FIR as she was “preturbed”. She further said that she now realised both of them were “from different religions and it is not possible for them to stay together after marriage.” The bench asked the girl who was present in court if she had filed the affidavit. She confirmed that she had filed the affidavit of her own free will and was not under any pressure.