Bombay HC Fines Woman Rs 25,000 for False Rape Complaint

MUMBAI:
The Bombay High Court imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on a woman for filing a false rape complaint against her boyfriend, as it struck down the case after she filed a petition saying she did not wish to pursue the matter.

A division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and V G Bisht on Tuesday directed the woman to pay Rs 25,000 to the Maharashtra Police Welfare Fund within four weeks. If the fine is not paid, then its order quashing the FIR against the man shall stand vacated, the bench said.

The woman had registered an FIR against her boyfriend at Nalasopara police station in Palghar district on March 16, alleging that he had drugged and raped her. Last month, the complainant, however, approached the high court seeking to quash the case, saying she had filed the FIR under pressure from her family.

In her plea, the woman claimed that she was in a relationship with the man, but when her family found out she concocted a false story that he had raped her. Opposing the plea, additional public prosecutor Aruna Kamat Pai said the police were investigating the case and will file a charge sheet.

If the court was inclined to quash the FIR, then a heavy fine should be imposed on the woman, she said. The court accepted this argument and said, “In our view, the case of the petitioner cannot be accepted simpliciter that the complaint was filed by her due to pressure from her family members.”

“However, since the petitioner does not want to pursue the complaint, we are inclined to quash the FIR but on the condition that the petitioner pays Rs 25,000 to the Maharashtra Police Welfare Fund within four weeks,” the court directed.