False allegations of rape: Court jails woman for 1,653 days

The court fixed the duration of imprisonment in proportion to the time spent by the accused Ajay Rawat in prison after being falsely implicated in the case

The court of the additional district judge in Bareilly sentenced a 21-year-old woman to four years eight months and six days in prison for giving false testimony in a kidnapping and rape case registered in 2019.

For representation only (HT File Photo)

Additional district judge Gyanendra Tripathi passed the order on May 4.

The court fixed the duration of imprisonment – 1,653 days – in proportion to the time spent by 25-year-old accused Ajay Rawat in prison after being falsely implicated by the victim in the case.

The court also imposed a fine of ₹5,88,822 lakh on the woman.

The non-payment of the fine will result in extension of the prison term by six months, said the court.

The court fixed the fine on the basis of daily wages fixed by the state government for unskilled labour, said Sunil Pandey, state government counsel, who represented the government in court.

According to Pandey, during the trial of the case the woman backtracked from her earlier statement.

“She denied her earlier allegations of kidnapping and rape. She categorically stated that she had given the statement (under 164 CrPC) under pressure of the police against Ajay Raghav,” said Pandey.

In its 16-page order, the court observed that the woman made false allegations against the man for which he was jailed for over four years.

“Although it is appropriate and expected from the government, administration and courts to ensure the safety of women through relevant policies and laws, it does not mean that women who take unfair advantage of the same are given the freedom to attack the interests of men,” said the court.

“Apart from this, the actions of guilty women, like the one presented in the case, are likely to harm the real victims of society. In such a situation, it seems appropriate to punish (the woman) with hard punishment,” added the court.

The mother of the alleged victim had lodged an FIR against Ajay Raghav in September 2018 alleging that her 15-year-old daughter was kidnapped and raped by him. The victim supported the charges in the FIR.

However, during trial of the case when the victim was cross-examined, she backtracked from all the charges levelled in the FIR against the accused.