How to Defend a Rape Case in India

The definition of rape includes forced sexual intercourse. Rape is an act of “Sexual intercourse with a woman against her will, without her consent, by coercion, misrepresentation or fraud or at a time when she has been intoxicated or duped or is of unsound mental health and in any case if she is under 18 years of age”. Rape is a crime that has been escalating exponentially, and more importantly, what has been on the verge of rising are the false rape cases in India.

Rape cases are rising at an alarming rate, and it needs to have a good ratio of decline to let the country be a safe place.

Before discussing the defence against false rape cases in India, let’s first understand the scenario in India and data that reflect the rate of false rape cases in India or claims being made. This proves that false rape claims are a reality in India and not merely a figment of imagination. The laws created are not gender-neutral; hence, they are being used as a double-edged weapon for those who plan to misuse them. False rape cases being instituted related to sexual assault or harassment charges are levelled for reasons such as revenge, aggression, blackmailing, etc.

How common are False Rape Charges?

Rape is an accusation that is easy to make but hard to be proved and even harder to be defended by the party accused. A rape allegation gives a disastrous turn to the life of the accused, ostracizing them socially and, in many cases, ruining their business life and source of revenue. Rape is a menace, and it takes a lot of guts for a woman to speak about the awful incident. But are all rape cases in India actual? Or they are being filed with false claims to gain some undue advantage, take revenge, etc.

While revealing the identity of victims of sexual crimes is a punishable offence, the same principle does not hold in the case of alleged or actual offenders whose names and personal details can be freely circulated. A time has come when there is a need for safeguards to protect the accused from ‘false claims’ and to also take a step to decline the ratio of false rape cases in India.

An alarming rise in false rape cases in India; needs to be dealt with strongly

The Delhi High Court, very recently, stated that there is an alarming rise in false rape cases, and this must be checked firmly. It further noted that the false allegations of rape have the potential to destroy the life and career of the accused. “The accused in a false rape case loses his honour, cannot face his family, and is stigmatized for life. Allegations regarding offences such as one under Section 376 IPC (Punishment for Rape: Proposed Section 64 of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023) cannot be made at the drop of a hat – to settle personal scores,” it said.

Justice Subromonium Prasad observed while rejecting a plea seeking to quash a First Information Report (FIR) for the offence of rape, in which the parties pleaded that they had amicably resolved the issue and entered into a compromise. The court pointed out that the parties had registered cross-cases against each other for offences under Section 376 (Punishment for Rape: Proposed Section 64 of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Aman Vihar police station here. “In the present case, it appears that both sides have resorted to filing complaints of rape without having any sensitivity to the offence of rape,” Justice Prasad said, adding, “Allegations regarding offences such as one under Section 376 IPC (Punishment for Rape: Proposed Section 64 of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023) cannot be made at the drop of a hat to settle personal scores” [ii].

In another incident, a woman in Madhya Pradesh [iii] falsely accused four neighbours of the offence of gang rape, and they were sentenced to ten years. The woman and her son-in-law were in a relationship and decided to frame their four neighbours in 2014 because she did not get along with them. During interrogation, the son-in-law confessed that he was in a relationship with the complainant, and they filed a false case to implicate their neighbours, who used to fight with them on trivial issues.

According to the State Crime Record Bureau data record, approx. 40% of the rape cases disposed of by the Haryana police between 2018 and 2020 were “false” [iv]. The conviction rate was less than two incidents out of every 10. The police disposed of 4,093 cases in the three years, of which 1,650 (40.3 per cent) rape FIRs were found false. In 2018, 104 complaints (37.7 per cent) of the 276 related to “repeated rapes on same women” were found false. The corresponding count was 60 (32.6 per cent) of 184 in 2019 and 181 (44.9 per cent) of the 403 complaints in 2020.

Gray Area of Rape Laws

Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (Rape: Proposed Section 63 of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023) doesn’t deal with rape against men or trans-genders. This is the giant loophole in rape laws in India. Although, there have been many instances where men have been raped and molested, and they have been trapped in false rape charges to gain certain ulterior motives. But our law is silent on it. It is essential to make laws or put certain amendments so that the rules are more gender-neutral, as rape cases in India are rising at an alarming rate.

No one discusses the dignity and honour of a man, as all are only fighting for the rights, honour, and dignity of women. Laws for the protection of women are being made, which may be misused by a woman, but where is the law to protect a man from such a woman where he is being persecuted and implicated in false cases? An urgent need to be looked out for such women as men are supposed to be kept safe from these women in an attempt to decline the false rape cases in India.

Fighting False Rape Accusations

Have you been falsely accused of committing rape? Don’t take it lightly, as rape allegations are serious. Even if the rape charges are false, their consequences are long-lasting. If you are a victim of a false rape charge, then the first thing you need to do is to contact a criminal lawyer, who will guide you and help you in responding aptly to the false allegations and defend you against them.

Following are some of the suggestions that you must follow after you are being falsely accused of a rape charge:

Stay Away From the Accuser

You need to maintain distance from the accuser physically and virtually. It means that you should not meet or even contact the accuser. This will help you to be safe from further allegations.

If you can’t stay away from the accuser, as she might be your colleague in the office, then make sure that there is a third party present who can witness you. Avoid communication with the accuser, as suggested above. Please do not send an email, messages, or WhatsApp to her. This will land you in trouble, and remember that anything you say or write can be used against you in a court of law.

Be strong and control your emotions

We understand that a false rape charge is a very frustrating and worrisome matter, but you have to keep your emotions under control. You should invest your time and energy in deciding your next steps and how to protect yourself. Don’t express your feelings to your accuser; stay away from her.

Alibi: Use Technology to prove it

Please prove that you were not present at the crime spot at the stated time and you were somewhere else; this could be demonstrated with specific evidence or witnesses. You can prove this through your GPS location or other technological means like CCTV Footage.

Prove that the complainant is a habitual liar

You can prove that the complainant is a habitual liar, and she has filed similar cases against other men as well to blackmail them or to extort money from them. You can use the help of social media to prove it, as you may find some leads there.

Cross-examination

This is a critical stage of the proceedings, and this should be utilized wisely to prove that the evidence presented was false. This could be used to confirm that the accuser’s motive was to take revenge or to blackmail and extort money. This can be done through bank statements, cell phone history, social media, etc. During cross-examination, you can also emphasize your previous relationship with the complainant.

Assess Any Possible Motives

A criminal advocate will assist you in discovering what motives may exist on the part of you and your accuser. This is a significant lead to protect you; if you can prove that the accuser has a motive to implicate you in a rape case falsely, then this will go in your favour. A motive of the accuser could be revenge or jealousy, or it could be anything you have to analyze and prove.

If it was consensual then prove it

If you try to prove that the sexual intercourse was consensual, then this can put the accuser at a disadvantage. You need to provide relevant evidence to your advocate. You can show the proof that goes in your favour that shows that the accuser and you did the act consensually, and it was not a forced act.

Detailed Account of Events and Possible Witnesses

Try to provide your advocate with details revolving around the events that led to a false rape accusation against you. Do not hide anything from your advocate; they must be given every minute detail of the events. It would help if you also tried to focus on people who could be your witnesses.

Being falsely accused of a rape offence amounts to abuse of the law and also wastes the critical time of the courts and the police. Due to false cases, the actual instances get overshadowed and do not receive the required attention. The laws must evolve towards men and the third gender, considering their sufferings.

The Delhi Court [v] stated that “It is time now to have laws to protect and restore the dignity of men charged with false rape cases as everyone is just fighting to protect the honour of women”. Just because there are no laws for men to protect them against false rape accusations is not the end of the battle. You can always fight smartly against a false rape case with wisdom and the proper guidance from an advocate. Following the suggestions above would help to make your case strong.

[i] https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/alarming-rise-in-false-rape-cases-need-to-be-dealt-strongly-delhi-high-court-7457488/

[ii] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/delhi-high-court-expresses-worry-over-alarming-increase-of-false-rape-cases/article36042093.ece

[iii] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mp-woman-falsely-accused-4-neighbours-of-gang-rape-sentenced-to-10-years-101635426415800.html

[iv]  https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/40-rape-cases-declared-false-by-haryana-police-315777

[v] https://www.firstpost.com/india/time-to-have-laws-protecting-dignity-of-men-charged-with-false-rape-cases-delhi-court-2637154.html