The Supreme Court rejected on Friday an appeal challenging a Delhi high court order that acquitted Peepli Live director Mahmood Farooqui in a rape case.
The apex court refused to acknowledge that the victim in the case gave no consent, pointing out the high court’s judgment was well-written. The SC also said such cases were very hard to decide.
The HC, in its judgment in September 2017, said there were doubts whether such an incident took place in the manner alleged by the woman concerned. “And even if it did occur, (there is lack of clarity on) whether it was without the consent/will of the prosecutrix,” it added, ruling in favour of Farooqui.
The court recorded that the appellant “had no idea that the prosecutrix was unwilling, and there are instances when a feeble ‘no’ on the part of a woman may mean ‘yes’ during the course of a sexual act”. “In cases where the parties are known to each other, it could be really difficult to decipher whether a feeble ‘no’ – (accompanied by) little or no resistance – actually amounts to denial of consent.”
The Delhi Police had lodged an FIR against Farooqui on June 19, 2015, after an American citizen of Indian origin accused him of rape. The chargesheet stated that Farooqui had raped the complainant, a research scholar from Columbia University, at his Sukhdev Vihar residence in south Delhi on March 28, 2015.
{{/usCountry}}The Delhi Police had lodged an FIR against Farooqui on June 19, 2015, after an American citizen of Indian origin accused him of rape. The chargesheet stated that Farooqui had raped the complainant, a research scholar from Columbia University, at his Sukhdev Vihar residence in south Delhi on March 28, 2015.
{{/usCountry}}The trial began on September 9, 2015, and the woman appeared in a sessions court on September 14 to record her statement. The lower court held Farooqui guilty of rape on July 30, 2016, and awarded him seven years in jail with a fine of Rs 50,000.