False rape complaint will lead to prosecution: Delhi high court

Expressing concern at the increasing number of false complaints of rape, the Delhi high court (HC) has made it clear that girls whose complaints are found to be false will have to face court proceedings.

“If a prosecutrix makes false statement of an offence punishable with minimum 7 years, she must be made to face the consequence of registering a false FIR against an innocent person,” Justice SN Dhingra said, while dismissing a petition by a Delhi-based property dealer for quashing an FIR against him by a woman employee in the police department.

The court dismissed the petition despite the woman admitting making false accusations against the dealer and the two arriving at an out-of-court settlement.

“I consider that an offence under IPC section 376, punishable with a minimum sentence of seven years, cannot be taken lightly,” the judge said.
“The prosecutrix cannot be allowed to turn around and say she made a false statement and that now she has compromised the matter,” he said, refusing to quash the FIR and leaving it to the trial court to acquit the accused and prosecute the woman.