India: Court asks woman to do social service in blind school as her rape complaint 'misused process of law'
The FIR, lodged as per the complaint of the woman, stated that she was offered a cold drink by the alleged accused and after drinking it, she fell unconscious and was raped by him.
The Delhi High Court has asked a woman to do social service in a blind school after finding the allegations in her rape complaint are contrary to a compromise deed of the parties and "very unfair and a total abuse and misuse of the process of law".
The First Information Report (FIR), lodged as per the complaint of the woman, stated that she was offered a cold drink by the alleged accused and after drinking it, she fell unconscious and was raped by him.
However, as per a compromise statement, the woman acknowledged that the accused person never established physical relations with her against her will.
"The second party was having a money dispute with the first party, due to which she was disturbed and under some ill-advice and misguidance, she got the subject FIR registered against the first party. The parties have now settled all their grievances and disputes without any force, undue influence or coercion from any side, out of their sweet/free will and choice and the parties are not under collusion," the compromise deed read.
The court noted that the allegations in the FIR and the compromise deed are totally opposite and was in the view that the conduct of the woman is very unfair and is a total abuse and misuse of the process of law.
A bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh, in the recent order, said: "On a query, the respondent No. 2 (woman) states that she has been undergoing mental depression, as a result of which under misguided and wrong advice she has registered the FIR.
"I am of the view that the respondent No. 2 has been very unfair in her entire conduct. The criminal justice system has been put in motion on account of her whims and fancies which need to be deprecated. However, I cannot lose sight of the fact that respondent No. 2 is staying with her family and has 4 children (one daughter aged 12 years and a set of triplets aged around 3 years.)."
Accordingly, the FIR registered on the allegations of the woman was quashed and the woman was asked to do social work at All India Confederation of the Blind, Rohini for a period of 3 hours, 5 days a week for a period of 2 months.
The man in the case was directed to plant 50 trees in Rohini area. "Each tree shall have a nursery life of 3 years and the petitioners will look after their respective allotted trees for 5 years," the court said.
