On July 31, 2024, the Delhi High Court refused to quash the chargesheet, stating that the case was pending before the trial court.
New Delhi, Feb 25 – The Supreme Court has quashed FIR No. 766 of 2021 against a retired Army officer accused in an alleged rape case, calling it an “abuse of process of law.“
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran granted relief to Capt. Rakesh Walia (retired), observing that the Delhi High Court erred in refusing to quash the chargesheet. Walia had contested the High Court’s decision dismissing his plea against the chargesheet.
The Supreme Court noted that the complainant had failed to assist the police investigation and had not appeared before the court, despite receiving official notices.
“We have been informed that after lodging the FIR, the complainant has not cooperated with the investigation and has not appeared before this Court despite being served with notice,”
the Court observed.
The Supreme Court ruled that the High Court should have used its inherent powers to stop such misuse of the legal system. The Bench made it clear that Walia should not have to face prolonged legal proceedings based on allegations that appeared to be part of a pattern of misuse.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court explained why it was quashing the case:
“Considering the nature of the case and the cumulative circumstances, we are of the opinion that the criminal case initiated against the appellant is nothing but an abuse of the process of law. This is precisely the nature of case where the High Court ought to have exercised its inherent powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C. (as per new act, under Section 528 B.N.S.S.) and should have quashed the proceedings. Under these circumstances, we see no reason why the appellant should be subjected to a process that is clearly an abuse of the process. Accordingly, the criminal proceedings initiated against the appellant, i.e., FIR No.766 of 2021 of Mehrauli Police Station, South (Delhi) is hereby quashed.”
The former Army officer, identified as Walia, had challenged a Delhi High Court ruling that dismissed his plea against the chargesheet. His lawyer, Advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, argued that the complaint itself did not establish any crime and that the FIR should have been quashed.
Dubey further alleged that the complainant was running a “sextortion” racket, using false cases to extort money from multiple people.
He pointed out that she had filed “seven FIRs against nine different people, including the petitioner, at seven different police stations” over the past eight years.
On July 31, 2024, the Delhi High Court had refused to quash the chargesheet, stating that the case was pending before the trial court. It said the trial court would examine all arguments and “pass an appropriate verdict.”
Walia’s petition described him as a “63-year-old decorated officer of the Indian Army with critical medical ailments.”
The plea further stated that he had “suffered a massive heart attack and has two stents implanted. He was diagnosed with cancer and clinically declared as a highly immune-compromised case.”
The petition alleged that the retired officer was a “victim of an unscrupulous abuser” who misused laws related to rape and molestation to extort “hard-earned money of respectable citizens like him.”
Background
As per the plea, the complainant first contacted Walia during the COVID-19 lockdown between 2019 and 2020. She introduced herself as a social media influencer and offered to promote his book, Broken Crayons Can Still Colour, on various platforms.
Interested in her proposal, Walia agreed to avail her services after the lockdown ended, in June 2021. Later, on December 29, 2021, they met at Chhattarpur Metro Station to discuss the book promotion further. After their meeting, Walia dropped her off in Noida.
However, according to the plea, he received a call from the local police at around 6 PM the same day. The police informed him that the woman had filed a complaint against him, alleging that he had drugged and sexually assaulted her at around 4:15 PM.
Taking into account all the facts, the Supreme Court quashed the chargesheet, ruling that the case was an “abuse of process of law.“
Case Title: Rakesh Walia v. State of NCT of Delhi & Anr. [SLP(Crl) No. 014850/2024]
Appearance:-
Petitioner: Advocates Ashwani Kumar Dubey (AOR), Adwait Ghosh, Chandra Shekhar
Respondent: ASG Brijender Chahar, Advocates Mukesh Kumar Maroria (AOR), Raman Yadav, Advitya Awasthi, Santosh Kumar, Nar Hari Singh, Sarthak Karol, Amit Sharma V
View Order
