How To Fight False Rape Case In India

False FIR of rape is a sensitive issue. It affects the society. It is an act of sexual activity, which involves sexual intercourse without the consent of the victim. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of rape cases being filed, but after the investigation is over, many times it is found that those accusations of rape were false.

The women misuses these rape laws by making false accusations. This can be seen when after the me too movement, there has been an increase in the number of false accusations of rape. The movement was started to provide justice to women but sadly, it turned being misused.

According to the Delhi Commission of Women, the rape cases registered between April 2013 and July 2014 in Delhi around 53.2% were false. Around this period, the total number of rape complaints which were filed were 2,753 but sadly, only 1,287 cases were true, the rest were false rape cases. The commission said that they were investigating the cases intending to get justice for those women but later it was revealed that the complainant was prejudiced. The most common reason for these false complaints is the motive of taking revenge.

How to fight false rape case in India

• The first thing a victim (accused on whom the false allegation was made) should do is to hire an experienced criminal lawyer. The lawyer should have experience in hiring false accusations cases. The lawyer will help you understand all the nuances of the law and will defend you in court.

• After this, you should apply for anticipatory bail. The lawyer will help you in applying for this. In case of an arrest, you will get bail as if the offence is a bailable one. The anticipatory bail converts the non-bailable offence into a bailable one and you can easily get bail at the time of arrest.

• After this, you should try to stay away from the accuser. It will help you in staying away from further allegations. If there is urgency that you need to talk to him then

• you should talk in the presence of third person. You should stay strong during this time. You should keep your emotions in control and strategically plan your next move.

• You should invest your time in gathering evidence. You can collect the evidence supporting your plea of alibi under section 11 of the Indian Evidence Act that you were not there at the crime scene. You were present somewhere else at that time. For this, you can present the CCTV footage that you were present somewhere else. You can even present the text, calls, social media messages that contradict with the accuser’s claim. You should also present some witnesses who can testify about your character. You can give the evidence of good character in court. You can even give evidence that the complainant is a habitual liar. You can present with evidence that she had filed similar complaints against other men and tried to extort money from them.

• The stage of cross-examination is an important stage. Ask the questions which an reveal the motive of accuser.

• You can even file a counter FIR for providing false information to public servant and for filing false FIR. You should have evidence that the accuser has filed false FIR.

• You can also file the petition to quash the FIR before the High Court. The High Court has inherent power to quash the FIR to prevent the abuse of process of court.

• If you are acquitted, then you can file a suit for defamation against the accuser. Rape is considered as a sinful act in the society. Even if the person is acquitted, the repercussion of such false allegation remains with him. His reputation in society was harmed so he can file a suit of defamation against the accuser. He can made the accuser criminally liable for defaming him.

  
  

Way Forward

Although after the Nirbhaya case, there has been criminal law reform, which strengthen our rape laws. Still, there is need for legal and policy reforms to address the issue of false rape cases in India. Let us discuss these:

There should be improved training for law enforcement officials so that they can recognize and handle the false cases properly. The training should include some psychological and social factors, which can help in fast reporting of such cases.

There should be public  awareness campaigns with the aim to raise awareness about the false rape cases. It can help in reducing the stigma related to such cases which in turn can raise the number of reporting of such cases.

There should be a support service for both the accuser and the accused. The proper psychological counselling and legal assistance should be provided to them. It will ensure that all the parties receive fair treatment.

There should be stringent laws governing the false FIR. The court procedure should be faster so that the innocent need not suffer much due to such false allegation.

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