Women misuse rape law to force lovers to marry them: Court

New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) Penal provisions on rape have been misused by some women who develop consensual physical relationship with their lovers and after the breakup file false rape cases to force them to marry them, the Delhi High Court has said.

Justice Kailash Gambhir said rape law was often misused by women as weapon for "vengeance and vendetta" to harass and blackmail their male friends by filing false cases to extort money and to force them to marry them.

"Many of the cases are being reported by those women who have consensual physical relationship with a man but when the relationship breaks due to one reason or the other, the women use the law as a weapon for vengeance and personal vendetta to extort money and sometimes even to force the boy to get married to them," the court said in a recent order.

"Out of anger and frustration, they tend to convert such consensual sex as an incident of rape, defeating the very purpose of the provision," Justice Gambhir said, while hearing a case related to a woman's complaint against her lover in Rani Bagh area July 13, 2012. The rape complaint was filed against Rohit Chauhan, who was allegedly in a relationship with the woman for three years. The court said that in many cases the woman first agrees to have consensual sex but she files a rape case against her boyfriend when the relationship breaks up in order to "force him to get married, making not only mockery of the marriage but also inflate the statistics of rape cases".

A trial court must cautiously examine the intentions of a complainant girl to find out whether the rape allegation was genuine or had malafide motives.

"There is a clear demarcation between rape and consensual sex and in cases where such controversies are involved, the court must very cautiously examine the intentions of both the individuals involved and to check if even the girl, on the other hand, is genuine or had malafide motives."

"Cases like these not only make a mockery of the sacred institution of marriage but also inflate the statistics of rape cases which further deprecates our own society," the court said.

The above judgement of Justice Gambhir is most appropriate.

Unfortunately our legislators have gone overboard in empowering women to such an extent that the wicked among them are conniving to harass men just to earn quick money.

Recently there was a true incident depicted in one of the crime shows where one lady with her parents had made it a habit of marrying and then within one year filing an FIR in the local police stations claiming harassment and torture.

The police would arrest the in-laws and the husband.

She would then demand a substantial sum, exceeding 10 lakhs to withdraw the case and give a divorce and then move on to another city.

She thus married thrice, through Shaadi.com in three different cities.

In the first two cities she collected about 30 lakhs but in the third city, the husband refused to pay.

He made enquiries through Shaadi.com and came to know the facts.

The lady and her family were jailed for three years.

In Bangalore a girl had and affair with one person and married a second person.

After marriage, the girl continued with her affair as she frequently went back to her parents home.

When her spouse found out of the affair, he naturally asked for divorce.

The girl said she would give divorce if he coughed up Rs five lakhs otherwise she would file a case under 398A.

The person became so frustrated at the girls insistence of Rs 5.0 lakhs that he murdered her.

Just two days ago in Bengal, a husband committed suicide owing to harassment by his wife and in-laws.

I would suggest certain checks and balances be made in 398A so that it is not misused by these conniving, wicked ladies to earn a quick buck.