IMPLICATIONS OF FALSELY ACCUSED
WRITTEN BY: PRAGATI TOMAR
4TH
YEAR, B.A.LL.B(HONS)
PRESTIGE
INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH, GWALIOR
EDITED BY: MUSKAN PRASAD
4TH
YEAR, B.A.LL.B(HONS)
AMITY
LAW SCHOOL, NOIDA
INTRODUCTION
By virtue of “the Criminal
Law ( Amendment) Act, 2013. Section 154 of the Code Of Criminal
procedure, 1973” has been amended, and “sections
114 A of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and section 166 A of Indian Penal Code, 1860”
have been inserted. Newly amended “Section 154 Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973”
provides compulsory registration of FIR in case of sexual offences whether it
seems false. It means this section made it compulsory for public servants to
register the sexual offence. “Section 114 A of Indian Evidence Act, 1872”
provides that if the victim of the sexual offence says that there was no
consent then the court shall presume that there was no consent whether the mark
of struggle on the victim's body or not, or she travelled with the accused from
one place to another with her own consent or not. The burden of proof will lie
on the accused to prove that there was consent of the victim at the time of
sexual intercourse. “Section 116 A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860” provides a
punishment of a minimum of 6 months to 2 years to the station house officer in
case he does not register FIR in case of sexual offences. It means that the
officer is bound to register FIR in case of a sexual offence.
All
the above sections of different criminal law is for the benefit of the victims
in sexual offence cases but some people misuse it just to harm other reputation
and to just take revenge on other person. After the Criminal
Amendment Act 2013, there was a sudden increment in the registration of sexual
assault cases. These kinds of cases are increasing the workload on the judiciary.
After the registration of these cases, many accused are acquittal by the court
after trial. After getting acquittal the mental trauma faced by the innocent
accused during trial and sexual offences are the cognizable offences in which
the innocent accused got arrested. There is no remedy for the innocent accused
whose rights had been infringed during the trial.
So to prevent such kind of things we also have a few sections of law like “section 482 of Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973”, which talks about quashing of FIR. “Section 211 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860”, someone who files false FIR to cause injury is liable for a criminal proceeding. “Section 499 read with section 500 of Indian Penal Code, 1860”, someone files false FIR to defame someone if liable for criminal proceedings.
LAWS
IN FAVOUR OF THE VICTIM OF SEXUAL OFFENCE CASES
SECTION
154 OF CRPC
The
acronym FIR stands for 'First Information Report.' The first document prepared
in criminal proceedings is the FIR. An FIR is a document that documents the
victim's side of the tale. The FIR serves as a foundation for police
authorities to base and begin their investigations. As a result, it is evident
that a FIR is critical in criminal proceedings.
And in case of sexual offences, police is duty bound to file the FIR.
SECTION
114 OF THE INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT
“Section
114 of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872” allows courts to presume the presence
of certain facts based on the common course related to natural events, or of human
behaviour, and public and private business as in related to the facts of the
case at hand.
In case of sexual offences if the woman is saying that the sexual intercourse was done without her consent that court shall presume that the woman’s statements are true.
SECTION
166 A OF THE INDIAN PENAL CODE
The
offence of public servants defying the law is dealt with in “Section 166A of
the Indian Penal Code” (IPC). It was added to the IPC in 2009 as an addition to
address circumstances where public workers break the law while doing their
official duties. The section's goal is to hold public workers accountable and
ensure they follow the law while carrying out their tasks. It specifically
handles circumstances where information regarding certain offences is not
recorded as required by law.
As in the case of sexual offences if the police authority doesn’t file the FIR, then legal action will be taken against them by the higher authority.
CASE
LAWS:-
FALSE
FIR CASES
In
the Matter of SUBHASH KASHINATH MAHAJAN V STATE OF MAHARASTRA AND ORS[1]
In this case the Supreme Court observed false cases of data from different
years using the data provided by the “National Crime Record Bureau”, 2016 there
were a total of 5347 cases registered out of which 912 were false cases. In
2015 there were a total of 15638 cases decided by the court out of which 11024
cases resulted in the acquittal.
In
the matter of RAJESH SHARMA AND ORS V STATE OF U.P. AND ORS[2] By observing the data of the National Crime
Bureau 2005 supreme court found out that there were a total of 58,319 cases
reported out of which 6, 141 cases were declared as false cases on the account
of mistake of law and by the data of 2009 court found out that there were total
89,546 cases reported out of which 8, 325 cases declared false cases “on the
account of mistake of fact”.
LAWS IN FAVOUR OF FALSELY ACCUSED
SECTION
482 OF CRPC
The
section 482 of CRPC, 1973 says “that nothing in the code of criminal procedure
shall be deemed to limit or affect the inherent power of high court”
In falsely made cases high court has the power to quash that FIR even if it is made in a sexual offence case. This inherent power of the high court helps it to meet and secure the ends of justice.
SECTION
211 OF THE INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860
“Section 211 of the IPC, 1860” talks about false charges of offence made with
intent to injure someone like any person or institution even if they had full
knowledge about the fact that there is no lawful ground or reason for such
proceeding.
Punishment under this section “may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both”.But use this section the victim has to be the judgement creditor.
SECTION
499 READ WITH SECTION 500 OF THE INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860
“Section
499 read with section 500 of IPC, 1860” states that if the reputation of an
individual is harmed by any means can file a case of defamation.
CASE
LAWS:-
In
the matter of PAWAR VS. STATE OF MAHARASTRA[3] women lodge an FIR at Panvel
police station stating that the accused had committed rape with her on the fake
promise of marriage. The applicant first filed the application before the
Maharashtra High Court to quash the FIR but it was dismissed. Later he
approached the Supreme Court where his application was approved and FIR was
quashed on the ground that there was no fake promise of marriage as they were
in a long-term of relationship later due to unavoidable conditions he couldn’t
marry her.
In
the matter of SALMAN Vs. STATE OF U.P.[4] The high court imposed a fine
of Rs. ten thousand on the woman who has filed a false FIR of sexual offence
against the appellant. The appellant stated that he never had sexual
intercourse with the woman.
SOCIAL
ASPECTS OF FALSE IMPLICATIONS
In
most cases where the case is based on false allegations just to take revenge,
or for money, or due to family pressure, or any other reason the innocent
accused has to suffer with all aspects of their life whether economic, social,
educational or any other.
The major aspect is social, if he is working in the private sector the company will fire him after knowing about the FIR even though the proceeding is not done yet, or if he is a public officer he will get suspended from the authorities or have to face various inquiries by the higher authorities. The society will hold him guilty before the court does.
CONCLUSION
In
conclusion, the implications on falsely accused are far-reaching. The false
accusation made by someone can destroy the future of the innocent accused fully
in all aspects whether it is social, economic, or political. Society just outcasts
these people and never accepts them fully and wholeheartedly. So it became
crucial for the judicial system to ensure a fair and just system for both sides
and protect “the right of the victim as well as of the accused”, also society needs
to be more careful about such matters as a person’s and his family’s life
depends on it.
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