HC quashes rape charges, says woman already married

SAYING IT was a fit case where the FIR and further proceedings had to be quashed to “prevent the misuse of the criminal justice system”, the Delhi High Court Monday set aside charges against a man accused of allegedly raping a woman.

Issuing the order, Justice Mukta Gupta said as the woman was already married at the time of the alleged offence, she cannot claim that she was forced to have sex on the pretext of marriage.

In the FIR, the woman said she was a divorcee with an eightyear-old child. She found the accused on a matrimonial website, and they met at Defence Colony Market on December 8, 2015.

Promising marriage, she said he had sex with her on several occasions.however,sheallegedthat on April, 3, 2016, not only did the man renege on the promise of marriage, he also threatened to kill her daughter.

Threedayslater,sheregistered the complaint. On April 8, she recorded a statement saying she wanted to withdraw the case as differences with the accused had beenresolvedandtheywouldget married soon. After he got out on bail, the man allegedly refused to marry her, following which she decided to pursue the case.

Seeking directions to police to quash the FIR, the man then moved the court. As evidence, he submitted an FIR which the woman had earlier registered against another man on February 11, 2015 — on similar charges.

Three days after she had filed the first complaint, she married the man only to start living separately from him on February 20, 2015. The couple had then filed for divorce by mutual consent.

But, the marriage was still valid at the time of the alleged occurrences from December 2015 to April 2016, the man stated in his plea. Justice Gupta said on the basis of facts and material evidence collected during investigation, no case could be made to proceed further against the man.