No self-respecting woman will simply allege rape: Supreme Court

In a ruling that could serve as an eye-opener for the police and courts dealing with rape cases, the Supreme Court said considerable delay by a victim in filing an FIR or absence of injury marks do not mean the offence wasn’t committed. Nor does it mean that the victim is lying, a bench of justices P Sathasivam and RM Lodha said on Tuesday.

“No self-respecting woman will put her honour at stake by falsely alleging commission of rape,’’ the bench said, as it upheld the conviction of two friends who had raped two sisters, one of them married, in a remote mining area in Karnataka. The sisters, who worked in mines in Mangalore, were returning home at 6pm on June 2, 2004, when Santhosh and Surender allegedly raped them.But the victims’ family filed a complaint only after 42 days.

A trial court in Mangalore and the high court awarded them seven years imprisonment, besides a fine. But Santhosh and Surender raised doubts on the veracity of the testimony of the victims, who are poor and illiterate labourers.

They said there had been a 42-day delay in filing the FIR and that there were no injury marks on the girls’ bodies. Dismissing their arguments, the SC said that in a rape case, when a victim is illiterate and not aware of legal rights, the court must accept her testimony. “The statement must be accepted in toto, without further corroboration,’’ the SC said.   

Expressing concern over the plight of rape victims in society, the judges said it was extremely humiliating for a woman to blame anyone except the rapist.