The High Court further stated that if the police find that the allegations made by a woman against a man are false, then action should be taken against the complainant as per the law.
Kerala: The Kerala High Court ruled that in criminal cases, including sexual offenses, there should be no automatic presumption that a woman’s complaint is completely true. The court noted that nowadays, there is a growing trend of falsely implicating innocent people in such matters.
Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan made these observations while granting anticipatory bail to a man accused of sexually harassing a former female employee. The court pointed out that in this case, the police failed to investigate the accused’s earlier complaint that the woman had verbally abused and threatened him after he dismissed her from the job for poor performance.
The court emphasized that an investigation should examine both the complainant’s and the accused’s claims fairly.
“There cannot be any unilateral investigation of the case put up by the complainant alone. Merely because the de facto complainant is a lady, there is no presumption that, in all cases, her versions are gospel truth, and the police can proceed based on her statement without considering the case of the accused.”
The court also observed, “Nowadays, there is a tendency to implicate innocent people in criminal cases with serious allegations of sexual assault.”
The High Court further stated that if the police find that the allegations made by a woman against a man are false, then action should be taken against the complainant as per the law.
“They can very well take action against the complainants also as the law permits it.”
The court highlighted that false allegations could cause irreparable damage to an individual’s reputation and social standing.
“His integrity, position in society, reputation, etc., can be ruined by a single false complaint. The police authorities should be alert and vigilant, to find the truth in criminal cases during the investigation stage itself.”
It advised the police to conduct thorough investigations to differentiate between genuine and false accusations.
“Hence, it is the duty of the police to separate the chaff from the grain, before submitting final reports in criminal cases.”
Background
In this particular case, the woman alleged that the accused, who was a manager at her former workplace, grabbed her arms with sexual intent. However, the accused had already filed a police complaint against the woman, accusing her of verbally abusing him and making threats. He also submitted a pen drive containing an audio recording of her statements.
The court noted that the police should have considered the accused’s complaint as well and examined the evidence before proceeding with the case.
The High Court directed the accused to submit the pen drive to the investigating officer (IO) and instructed the officer to examine its contents.
“…if the de facto complainant (woman) is found to have submitted a false case against the petitioner (accused), appropriate action, in accordance with law, should be taken.”
Bail Conditions
To get anticipatory bail the person seeking it, must approach the Court of Sessions or the High Court and citing section 438 of the Criminal Procedure Code as well as giving proper reason, apply for it. If the court, based on a number of conditions and the nature of the case, sees merit in the petition the bail is granted. Hence if and when the person is arrested, he/she will be immediately released on the basis of the anticipatory bail.
The court granted anticipatory bail to the accused with the following conditions:
- He must appear before the investigating officer whenever required.
- He should fully cooperate with the investigation.
- He must not influence or intimidate witnesses.
- If arrested, he should be released on bail after furnishing a bond of Rs 50,000 with two solvent sureties of the same amount.
[Case Title: Noushad K v State of Kerala & anr].
