A POCSO complaint filed in 2016 has turned out to be false, after the alleged victim told the court that she did not know the accused and no such incident had taken place. The complaint was filed against two men who are in their early 20s following an allegation that the minor had been kidnapped by the duo, made to consume alcohol and raped by them.
A special court in Mumbai has now asked the minor to return any compensation she might have received from the government, as she turned hostile.
Case:
Two men were booked on charges of gang rape and kidnapping under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. They were behind bars for nearly five years. But, last week, the special court acquitted them. It also asked the minor to return any compensation she got from the government. The court, in its order, stated that it was not clear whether the survivor received any ex-gratia monetary aid from the state.
As reported by mid-day, Judge SU Baghele, City Civil & Sessions Court, Borivli Division, said in his order,
If she has received any such aid, it becomes the duty of the court to apprise the government of the fact that based on her testimony the FIR appears to have been falsely lodged by the informant.
Thus, if any monetary benefit has been received by her from the state, the same deserves to be recovered from her, for the simple reason that it would otherwise amount to misappropriation of public money.
Advocate Manjula Biswas and Advocate Amar Bhattachraya represented the two men who were booked in the case.
Post-verdict, speaking to mid-day, Biswas said,
After studying the case, we observed that both men were falsely booked. During the trial, we exhibited how the police failed to prove the contents of the FIR.
As there was no evidence against the arrested people, the honourable court acquitted the two men and even directed to recover compensation from the victim, if she has received any.
(If either of these advocates are reading this article, please connect with us at contact@voiceformenindia.com for an interview)
Monetary Scheme For Rape Survivors?
On the directions of the Bombay High Court, in 2013, Maharashtra via a Government Resolution (GR) had launched a scheme called Manodhairya Yojana. Under this, the state provides financial support and rehabilitation to victims of rape, child sexual abuse and acid attack. A few years back, a new GR was introduced with a provision to include recovery of compensation in case the victim turns hostile in the case. The special court in its order further instructed the police stations concerned to take all necessary measures to ensure recovery of compensation.
Why Conceal Identity Of Women Who File False Rape Cases?
As per Supreme Court guidelines, no media is allowed to publish or reveal names and identity of the rape survivors. MDO fully supports anonymity of women in such delicate cases. However, on the other hand, there are no guidelines to keep names of accused unpublished, and media generally has a field day splashing their names, photographs, personal and professional backgrounds.
What happens in cases like above, where the men are acquitted from court? Do they get an honourable acquittal from media/social media? No, they live with the tag of a rapist as society only reads digital footprints on the internet, and not the acquittal order.
Secondly, a woman who files false rape, is no more a victim. Why should her identity be hidden after acquittal of the accused? There is no conviction for a woman who files false rape case. Combined with her identity remaining private, what stops her from filing another false rape case elsewhere in the future?
Its time we look at women as an equal gender when it comes to laws. They should not be shielded as weaker section in the eyes of the law.
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