Court must ‘read things between the lines’: HC quashes rape FIR against Jharkhand BJP chief’s aide

Following the rape FIR in August 2021, Tiwari was arrested and later secured bail from the High Court. An appeal against the bail in the SC was dismissed by the top court. A second FIR of ‘criminal intimidation’ was registered against Tiwari on July 16 this year on the complaint of the victim.

Jharkhand HC’s Monday order comes after the Supreme Court in September dismissed Jharkhand government’s two special leave petitions filed against HC’s temporary relief to Tiwari. The apex court had, however, directed the Jharkhand High Court to dispose of the ‘controversial’ matter ‘preferably in one month’. Tiwari was being represented in the court by advocate Prashant Pallava.

Pronouncing the order Monday (October 21), the Jharkhand HC said if malicious prosecution is made and the HC doesn’t interfere, it will further amount to “abuse of process of law” as the court has more responsibility to “read the things in between the lines” so that no innocent person is harassed.

Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi said: “…In the case in hand for the alleged allegations of March 2020, the F.I.R. was registered on August 16, 2021 and what has been disclosed that this petitioner (Sunil Tiwari) has helped a lady against the sitting Chief Minister of the State of the Jharkhand and that is why all this trap has been made and that is not denied in the counter-affidavit which clearly suggests that maliciously the present case has been registered against the petitioner. Section 164 of the Cr.P.C. is not to be lightly brushed away but the statement was required to be considered along with antecedents., facts and circumstances.”

The court added that it looked into the chargesheet and there is no mention on “which date and what time” the victim was sent for medical examination and the date of issue of the report is also not mentioned.

The court said that it has “no hesitation” in arriving at the conclusion that “if the criminal proceedings are allowed to continue against the petitioner the same will be abuse of process of law” and quashed the entire criminal proceedings and the FIRs in both the cases.