Bombay High Court Sensational Verdict

New Delhi, Apr 08: Upholding the conviction of four men for gang-rape, the Bombay high court has held that a delay in lodging a police complaint does not mean the victim is lying.

In this perspective, The Bombay High Court has said Indian women would never make false allegations of being raped.

The HC accordingly held that a delay in reporting a rape case to the police should not be construed as the victim is lying.

Justice A.M. Badar dismissed the appeals of Dattatraya Korde (31), Ganesh alias Manoj Pardeshi (33), Pintu Khoskar (25) and Ganesh Zole (20) challenging their conviction by a trial court in Nashik.

The prosecution case is that on March 15, 2012, the victim went to the Trimbakeshwar temple with a co-worker. After which, they visited a nearby place, Brahmagiri, where they stopped for lunch around 2:30 pm. The accused, who reached there, beat up the two. Three of them dragged the woman to a bush and raped her. The accused also looted their belongings and issued threats against revealing the incident to anybody.

The defence argued the FIR was lodged after two days proving it was a false complaint. However, the judge held that the reluctance to go to the police can be because of the society’s attitude towards such victims.