A Delhi Trial Court while acquitting an accused in a rape case suggested that the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) needs to adequately train its counselors posted at police stations to provide support and assistance to rape victims but not to advise them to lodge false rape cases.
In addition, the Additional Sessions Judge Arun Grover Baliga gave the advice to the women’s rights body after an alleged rape victim in her statement before the court said that “she had mentioned the allegations of rape in her complaint to the police only on the advise of the NGO counsellor at Sarojini Nagar police station”.
The judge before parting with the case said that it finds it necessary to direct that a copy of this judgment be sent to the DCW to bring to its notice the conduct of the counselor. This court has no doubt in its mind that the statement made by the complainant today on oath that she had made allegations of rape in her complaint only on the advice of the counselor present at the police station, is true and correct. “This court, therefore, feels it extremely important to request the DCW to properly train its counselors appointed at different police stations and remind them that their duty is to provide support to the victims of sexual assault, and not to advise them to make false allegations of rape.”
Also, the judge further said, “This court has found the prosecutrix to be a very credible witness as she honestly narrated the entire facts in her deposition and did not make any efforts to conceal the fact that it was the attitude of her own grandfather which caused problems in the finalization of her marriage with the accused. She has also very outrightly admitted that she was never fraudulently influenced by the accused to have sexual relations.” “In the opinion of this court, had the counselor not given incorrect advice to the prosecutrix to make false allegations against the accused only to rope him in a case of rape, the accused would not have had to spend 22 days in judicial custody and perhaps the parties may have amicably settled their disputes.”
While the allegations against the accused in the complaint stated that he had sexually assaulted the victim on multiple occasions on the pretext of marrying her.
Courtesy : LAWRATO.COM