Rising Menace of False Rape in India

Rape in India as an offence was introduced with the enactment of Indian Penal Code 1860, since then a lot of changes have been introduced in the offence. Its scope has been made wider to include all kinds of acts that outrage modesty of a woman. Not only the bare text has been met with changes but also the perception of society towards it has changed a lot. Not a long ago a rape victim had to face taboo in society, under most circumstances she was the one who was actually blamed for it. Practices like marrying the perpetrator were forced upon a woman that scarred her for life. Now it is different in India, society has had its full and there is a general intolerance towards the offence of rape.

What is Rape according to Criminal Law?     

Section 375 of Indian Penal Code provides for offence of rape. The section can be divided in two parts, firstly, is the act of commission and secondly, the circumstances under which these acts would amount to the offence of rape.

The commission of –

(a) Penetration of any orifice in a woman by a man

(b) Penetration of any object in any orifice in a woman

(c) Touching any orifice with the mouth

These acts need not be done by a man to a woman, if she is forced to do this to herself or with any other man would also amount to commission of rape.

The second part of the Section provides for circumstances –

(a)  All the acts stated above should be without her consent or against her will

(b) All the acts are done with her consent but the consent obtained is vitiated by putting fear of death or hurt to her or to any person she is interested in

(c)  The consent obtained is on the false pretext that the man is her husband

(d) The consent given by her is during unsoundness of mind or under influence of intoxication

If a girl is below 18 years of age it does not matter whether her consent was obtained or not.

Section 376 provides for punishment for the offence of rape which is rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than 7 years and which may extend to life imprisonment.

Rising Menace of False Rape in India

The offence that was provided to women to protect themselves is now being used by them as a tool against men. Women accuse men of rape to extort money, coerce them into marriage, for vengeance or may be obtain a job or position. Sometimes educated women also accuse men of rape and say they had sexual intercourse on false pretext of marriage. Such cases were on such a rise that Supreme Court had to intervene and rule, that if a man or woman ends a consensual relationship, charges of rape cannot be imposed on a man if during that relationship consensual sex was involved. No matter what was the reason for the relationship to end. As per National Crime Records Bureau in 2016 38,947 rape cases were reported out of which 10,068 were claimed as rape by women on false pretext of marriage.

Consequences of a False Charge of Rape

A false charge of rape not only destroys the life and family of the accused but also affects genuine victims. A false accusation can lead to loss of job, respect in society, family, friends and other financial implications involved to fight the legal battle. Like a woman is left with serious mental agony after commission of rape, a false accusation can also lead a man into mental pain and suffering and depression, and his professional career may come to a standstill or be destroyed forever. Also, a genuine victim would have to fight prejudice in society which a false rape charge creates. So a woman accusing a man of false rape charge leaves a scar forever for the accused and other fellow women.

Suggestions

A man who has been accused of false rape charge should also be provided with compensation and rehabilitation. He should be provided with help to ward off the mental suffering which he suffered during the case. Court should ensure serious implications on women who bring such false charges to court of law. Also, it is time that the rape law should be made gender neutral to include all.  

The author of this blog is Adv. Prakash Khandelwal having an experience of 29 years in handling criminal matters from his experience he wants to share this beneficial information for the individuals having any issues with respect to criminal matters.