The Bombay HC Today (3rd April), dropped a rape case against a married man following a plea filed by the accused.The bench, considering the circumstances and the nature of the allegations, decided to quash the FIR. Additionally, the accused granted interim protection from arrest and instructed to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh to the Advocates’ Association of Western India Generation Next by a specified date.
Bombay: The Bombay High Court dismissed a rape FIR against a married man following the woman’s statement in court that,
“The relationship was consensual and she has no objection to dropping the FIR”.
Justices PD Naik and NR Borkar presided over a plea filed by the accused, against whom an FIR was lodged on February 3, 2024, at Lonavala Police Station in Pune Rural. The charges included rape, criminal intimidation, and causing harm with intent to commit an offense, prompted by the woman’s discovery of the accused’s marital status.
When the accused contested the FIR in the Bombay High Court with lawyer Sana Raees Khan, the woman also attended court and submitted an affidavit.
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In the affidavit, the woman confirmed that an amicable resolution reached between her and the accused, leading her to retract all allegations mentioned in the FIR. She explicitly consented to the FIR being quashed.
Represented by her lawyer, Ruchita Rajpurohit, the woman expressed concerns for her safety. However, the accused’s wife and mother reassured her, as per the terms of the agreement, that neither they nor the accused would engage in any future contact or harm her in any way.
Advocate Khan, on behalf of the accused, also submitted an affidavit affirming that the issues resolved amicably between the accused and the woman. They asserted that neither the accused nor his family members had attempted to harm her in any manner.
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The bench acknowledged both affidavits. Additional Public Prosecutor AS Shalgaonkar, representing the investigators, highlighted that during the investigation, the woman had previously stated before the Magistrate that she felt pressured by the accused to withdraw the complaint.
Khan contended that the woman’s statement before the Magistrate occurred while the accused’s application for anticipatory bail was pending.
Khan submitted,
“At present, the complainant is present in court, and she consents to quashing the FIR. She confirms that she has no objection to withdrawing the FIR lodged against the accused.”
The bench agreed, stating,
“Given the circumstances and the nature of the allegations in the FIR, along with the settlement between the parties, the FIR can be quashed.
The accused, who never arrested in the case, promptly filed a writ petition to quash the FIR and was granted interim protection from arrest. The bench ordered the accused to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh to the Advocates’ Association of Western India Generation Next by April 17.