Bombay HC asks Pune police to pay Rs 50,000 to doctor couple

Besides the man and the doctor couple, four other family members were also charged under Sections 376 (rape) and 417 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Bombay High Court has ordered the Pune police to compensate a doctor couple who had been illegally detained for 18 days in 2015. The couple, who will have to be paid Rs 50,000 in costs, is the sister and brother-in-law of a Pune resident who was booked in a case of alleged rape and cheating.

Besides the man and the doctor couple, four other family members were also charged under Sections 376 (rape) and 417 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. The complainant in the case was a woman who was engaged to be married to the main accused. After their engagement in September 2014, which took place with the family’s support, the two had a “sexual intercourse” at the house of the accused in December 2014, the woman alleged. The woman said in her complaint the engagement was later called off. She said she found the man was losing interest in fixing a wedding date, which led to a confrontation and an altercation. This was eventually “used by his family” to call off the wedding, she claimed, alleging that she had been raped on the pretext of marriage despite her resistance.

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She also alleged in her complaint that she perceived a threat from the man’s sister and brother-in-law. Fearing arrest, the couple filed an anticipatory bail petition. The application was dismissed on the ground that no offence was registered against them. In June 2015, the two were arrested and detained for 18 days. They got bail only after they moved the Bombay High Court.

Justice Ranjit More and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai observed that though the family members of the man could not be held for abetting rape, quashing the charge against him would deny the woman an opportunity to prove her allegations later.

However, when it came to the charge of cheating, the court held that people could not be prosecuted for cheating for mere breach of promise of marriage, which may be due to non-compatibility or any other reason. “Particularly when the FIR does not state that the petitioner 1 (man) and his family members had deceived the respondent 2 (woman) or intentionally induced her to do any such act which was likely to cause damage or harm to the woman,” the HC observed.

The court found the police officials and the judicial officials in breach of Supreme Court guideline regarding preventive detention. The court ordered the Pune police commissioner to conduct an inquiry into the couple’s illegal detention and “fix the responsibility and to take disciplinary action against the erring police officers”. The inquiry report, the HC ordered, should be submitted within four months.

The HC quashed the case against the family members. The charge of cheating against the man was quashed too, though he will continue to face an investigation for the rape charge against him.

Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan is Head-Legal Project, Indian Express digital and is based in New Delhi. Before joining Indianexpress.com, he worked with Press Trust of India as News Editor, editing legal stories from the Supreme Court and various High Courts. He also worked as an Associate Editor with Bar and Bench, where he led long-form storytelling, ran series on crucial and interesting legal issues, conducted exclusive interviews and wrote deep-dive stories. He has worked for the Indian Express print between 2013 and 2016, when he covered law in Mumbai and Delhi. In his current role, Aamir oversees the legal coverage for the website. He holds an LLB degree, PG Diploma in Journalism (New Media) and a Bachelor's in Life Sciences and Chemistry. You can reach him at: aamir.khan@indianexpress.com. ... Read More

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