A Delhi court released a man from the charges of raping and intimidating a married lady. The court felt that she was mature enough to clearly get what all was going on between the duo. It also pointed out the big delay made in filing an FIR as the lady had been complaining about the rape incident which took place in 2008 but she registered an FIR in 2016, after eight long years of the incident.
Praveen Kumar, the additional sessions judge, said,
“No cogent evidence has emerged on record to show that physical relations were established with the woman without her consent. She was mature enough to fully understand as to what was happening between the two. There is nothing in her evidence to demonstrate that she was incapable of understanding the nature and implications of the acts which she consented to. If a fully grown up lady consents to the act of sexual intercourse and continues to indulge in such activity for long, it is an act of promiscuity on her part.”
The judge further added,
“The FIR in criminal case is an extremely vital and valuable piece of evidence for the purpose of corroborating oral evidence adduced at the trial… Delay sometimes affords opportunity to the complainant to make deliberation upon the complaint and make embellishment or even make fabrications. In the present case, the delay in lodging the FIR has not been adequately explained.”
The court also observed that the woman could have lodged a complaint after the alleged incidents happened despite the fact that she had plenty of opportunity to do that.
The lady also testified that she stayed with the accused as per her will and never tried to escape or told anyone about the rape incidents; however, she got chances to tell someone or escape.
As per the prosecution, the lady from South-West Delhi filed the complaint only after her husband motivated her to fight after he read messages in her phone sent by the accused.
The lady claimed that she first met the accused in 2008 and since then, she had been raped and intimidated by the accused many times till 2016. On the other hand, the accused claimed that whatever happened between him and the woman was based on mutual consent and she filed the complaint as her husband wanted her to do so.
Who do you think is speaking the truth and who is telling a lie? What is the role of the woman’s husband in filing the FIR? Share your views in the comments section below.
