A woman Deputy Superintendent of Police from Bihar has appealed to the Supreme Court against a Patna High Court decision dismissing her complaint of rape against an IPS officer. She alleges the officer misused his position of authority to establish a relationship, promising marriage, which he later denied citing vague reasons. The court had earlier ruled their relationship was consensual, but the woman insists the FIR and evidence clearly show the commission of the crime. The Supreme Court will now review the case.
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NEW DELHI: A woman police officer from Bihar, working as Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy SP), has approached the Supreme Court after the Patna High Court dismissed her complaint against an IPS officer she accused of raping her under the false promise of marriage.
The case is set to be heard by a bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah on Monday (Feb 20). The woman’s plea, filed by advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, challenges the Patna High Court’s September 19, 2024, order, calling it
“perverse, devoid of any legal merits, beyond the facts of the case and contrary to the settled law.”
The complaint revolves around an FIR lodged on December 29, 2014, at the Mahila Police Station in Kaimur, Bihar. The FIR names IPS officer Pushkar Anand and his parents. The officer was charged with serious crimes, including rape and criminal intimidation, while his parents were accused of aiding the crime.
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The woman officer claimed that shortly after she joined as Dy SP in Bhabua, Anand, who was then the Superintendent of Police (SP), began approaching her in a friendly manner via social media. According to her, he expressed his desire to marry her, and she reciprocated.
Over time, their relationship turned physical. However, the marriage was later called off, reportedly due to mismatched horoscopes.
The plea states,
“It is respectfully submitted that the high court failed to appreciate that the Respondent No. 2 (IPS officer) at the time of commission of offence was posted as a Superintendent of Police and the Petitioner was posted as Subordinate officer to him and thus, the Respondent No. 2 was in power and authority to influence to his Subordinate Officer i.e. Petitioner and being an authority, he committed the offence and also assured to get married to her which he later denied by citing vague reasons.”
The woman argued that the high court overlooked evidence in the FIR and chargesheet, which she claims clearly show the commission of the crime. She contends that the details in her complaint establish a prima facie case against the accused.
However, the Patna High Court, in its order, remarked that the woman and the IPS officer were in a consensual relationship for an extended period.
The court observed that the woman willingly stayed with him and consented to physical relations.
The order stated,
“If the relationship is not working out for reasons beyond the control of the parties, it cannot be a ground for lodging a case against the petitioner for offence punishable under section 376 of the IPC. Hence, initiation of criminal proceeding by the informant against the petitioner is wholly unwarranted.”
The case highlights a legal debate over relationships involving power dynamics and the promise of marriage.
The Supreme Court will now examine the merits of the woman’s appeal.
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