Noting that ‘false rape cases’ undermine genuine rape complaints, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) to consider the plea of a Navi Mumbai-based man. The petitioner has sought an inquiry against a police officer allegedly involved in orchestrating false rape cases against ‘innocent men’ on behalf of ‘serial’ Complaint who target professionals for ‘sextortion.’
A division bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Dr. Neela Gokhale observed that in such cases, the man’s ‘reputation’ is irreparably damaged.
“You (State) need to consider the fact that in such cases, often the man loses his reputation. And then because of such false cases, even the genuine cases get affected,” Justice Mohite-Dere orally remarked.
The bench was hearing a petition submitted from jail by a senior management official of a motor vehicle company, who has been in custody for over 30 months in connection with a rape case filed against him by a woman advocate. He alleged that the complainant is a serial litigant known for falsely accusing multiple professionals of rape and outraging modesty.
“This is nothing short of a pot boiler, where educated and intelligent girls have teamed up to devise an ingenious modus operandi to to earn huge quick bucks by misusing the draconian sections of rape, outraging modesty and other laws, which were formulated by our lawmakers for the protection of women and not for such blatant misuse,” the complaint letter written to Milind Bharambe, the Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai.
The complaint alleges the existence of a ‘well-organized and meticulously planned’ crime syndicate, primarily operated by young women lawyers, with a strong presence in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and other states. It claims that these lawyers systematically file false rape cases against affluent men, initially forming relationships and requesting small amounts under the guise of ‘claimed love,’ before escalating to hefty financial demands by threatening prosecution for rape—a charge that many men fear due to its severe stigma.
“Such women are only taking advantage of their position of being a woman, misusing the stringent rape laws as their weapon and trapping affluent men,” the letter reads.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel informed the judges that an Assistant Police Inspector (API) has played a key role in facilitating false cases at the direction of two women advocates in Navi Mumbai and Thane. He highlighted that in most cases filed by these lawyers, either the complaints were withdrawn or the accused men were acquitted by the court. However, despite this, many of them have been forced to endure years of imprisonment.
“My life, future and career is ruined owing to the stigma of being a rape accused and an ex-prisoner. There is no ways that my three years of incarceration can be reimbursed for my sufferings in all means and ways or my life rebooted in any manner,” the man, who spent around three years in such a false rape case, said.
After reviewing the arguments, the judges directed the State DGP to treat the man’s letter petition as a formal representation and decide whether to take action against the named women lawyers and the API.
“If you want to take action against that lady because she filed multiple fake cases take action against her… If you think your officer is in cahoots with her, take action against him too..” Justice Mohite-Dere said.
The bench granted the DGP eight weeks to appoint an officer, initiate an inquiry into the API named by the complainant, and submit a report to the court.