E-Paper
Cricketer Shivalik Sharma on rape FIR getting quashed: Sachche ho to bhagwan raasta dikhate hain
Ahmedabad-based cricketer recalls the ordeal and the support that kept him going after a broken engagement landed him in Rajasthan’s jail.
Prefer HTon Google
For cricketer Shivalik Sharma, 27, the past two years have been a test far removed from the cricket field. His former fiancée filed an FIR alleging that he had established physical relations with her on a false promise of marriage. Sharma was arrested in May 2024 and spent around 20 days in judicial custody before securing bail. The Rajasthan High Court recently quashed the FIR, holding that the relationship was consensual and that the material on record did not establish a false promise of marriage from the beginning. The court observed that a dispute arising from a consensual relationship could not, by itself, constitute rape.
“When I first found out (about rape charges), it was shocking. I wondered how someone could do this simply out of revenge,” recounts Sharma. When I first found out (about rape charges), it was shocking. I wondered how someone could do this simply out of revenge,” recounts Sharma, adding, “But I never thought my life was over. You always have that hope that if you have not done anything wrong, you will eventually come out of it. It cannot continue forever.”
The ordeal
The 20 days in custody remain the most challenging phase: “Those 20 days cannot be forgotten. The atmosphere was completely negative. It felt like I had been taken to another planet where you cannot get out. You are living among criminals, surrounded by negative energy. We felt that the sooner we got out, the better, because surviving there was very difficult.”
The moment he learnt he had secured bail is still vivid. “I initially could not believe it, because when you are inside, you don’t know what is happening in court. You are always in doubt about whether things are going in your favour,” he says, adding, “As soon as I found out, I went blank. My body became completely cold and I could not understand what to do. After two or three minutes, I composed myself and thought, ‘This was the last day, now I will get out.’”
Holding on to hope
That moment, he says, also brought back hope: “Somewhere, hope stuck with me since I knew ki agar aap sachche ho to bhagwaan raasta dikhate hain (If you are true, God helps you find a way out). It may take time, but eventually it works out.”
Sharma, who had been in this relationship since 2023 and got engaged in August the same year, now looks back to add, “Whatever we (Sharma and his parents) were doing, we were doing it from our heart. We wanted everything to be good.” On the financial disagreements, he shares, “We were thinking that the relationship should not get spoiled because of money. Whatever we could do, we were ready to do.”
However, things changed when his former partner mentioned that she wanted to live separately. “She started saying that we would live in a separate house, started having fights with my parents, saying certain things to me and my family. Misunderstandings started being created,” says the cricketer, elucidating: “Eventually, we felt their motive was something else. They were looking at money and a little bit of fame.” That’s when the relationship was called off, following which the woman approached the police.
Impact on career
The ordeal came at a crucial stage of his cricketing career as the left-hand batter had just come on board with the Mumbai Indians, ahead of the 2024 IPL season. But despite the setback, Sharma remained positive. He shares, “My career suffered a little and I went on the back foot, but I believe that when you go on the back foot in life, your comeback can be even stronger… It was like a rubber band. I was pulled back, but when I moved forward, I did so with double the force!”
Support from Pandya brothers boosted morale
For this comeback, he doesn’t miss out crediting fellow cricketers Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya, former India wicketkeeper and chief selector Kiran More, and a few other teammates who supported him during the challenging period. “Hardik and Krunal bhai both were in touch with my parents and my brother-in-law. My neighbours also helped us financially. All of these people played a very big role in getting us through this situation.”
Now, Sharma is looking forward to focus on cricket again as he continues to play for Vadodara and is eyeing the upcoming Ranji Trophy season as well as the next IPL auction.
Jail experience breaks down a person
Speaking about the fake rape allegations, Men's rights activist, Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj, says such allegations can have consequences far beyond the courtroom, affecting a man’s mental health, relationships, career and family. She argues that there are now “organised businesses around” such allegations and calls them “the easiest way to destroy someone”. Referring to Shivalik’s experience, she says the ordeal can change a person’s “entire perspective towards life”, leaving them with “trust issues, trauma and heartbreak”. She also highlights the social consequences, saying a man’s identity can be revealed almost immediately after an allegation, while a girl’s identity remains protected even after the case is quashed. This, she says, makes it difficult for men to “get back to normalcy”, as society may continue to view them through the allegation.
“Jail ka jo experience hai, that breaks down a person. There are victims who seek psychological treatment even after they have been declared innocent. But the experiences they go through, even after clearing their name, are very traumatising. Many people don’t even get jobs after such allegations, no matter how much they have proven their innocence,” she adds.
For more, follow @htcity.delhijunction
