Introduction
The laws made in India regarding rape are not gender-neutral and 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 that are levelled for reasons such as revenge, aggression, blackmailing, etc. It has a very damaging and adverse impact on the falsely accused person’s social, financial, personal life.
Definition of rape
The definition of ‘rape’ has been in dispute, but the term ‘rape’ may be understood to involve the sexual penetration of a man by force and without the consent of the woman. Rape is committed by male perpetrators and female are the victims, according to the given definition of rape u/s 375 of Indian Penal Code (for short IPC).
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.
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 incidence. But are all rape cases true? Or they are being filed with false claims to gain some undue advantage or to take revenge; etc.
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”. 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 percent) rape FIRs were found false. In 2018, 104 complaints (37.7 percent) of the 276 related to “repeated rapes on same women” were found false. The corresponding count stood at 60 (32.6 percent) of 184 in 2019 and 181 (44.9 percent) of the 403 complaints in 2020.
Alarming rise in false rape cases; need to be dealt with strongly
Recently, in Delhi the Court stated that “Rape is a heinous crime but false allegations of rape also need to be dealt with firmly. It causes huge humiliation to the accused.” It was alleged by the woman that she was raped by her father-in-law. The allegations were found to be false and the Court further said that “What they did is not just exaggeration, but also falls within the purview of an illegal act. It is an offence to make a false charge and this court is of the view that stern action against them is required”.
Gray Area of Rape Laws
Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) doesn’t deal with rape against men or trans-genders. This is the biggest loophole of 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.
No one discusses the dignity and honor of a man as all are only fighting for the rights, honor, 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.
Consequence of rape charge in India
Section 376 of the IPC lays down strict punishments for rape that varies from case to case basis. Earlier Section 376 provided a minimum punishment of 7 years of jail term and a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. However, the punishment was enhanced after 2012 Nirbhaya Rape Case that shook the whole country. After that incident, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013 was enforced on 2nd April, 2013, to increase punishment in sexual assault cases and new offences were introduced to the IPC including use of criminal force on a woman intending to disrobe, stalk and voyeurism.
After the Amendment of 2013, the minimum punishment for rape was increased from seven to ten years. The death penalty in rape cases was provided that caused the death of the victim or left her in a vegetative state. The punishment for gang rape was enhance to a minimum punishment of 20 years and maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
The rape and murder in Rasana village near Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir introduced harsher punishments in cases of assault of minors. Hence, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018, was passed wherein the death penalty was introduced as a punishment for the rape of a girl less than 12 years.
Defence against False Rape Accusations
Stay Away From the Accuser
This is very important for you to maintain distance from the accuser not only physically but also virtually. It means that you should not meet or even contract the accuser. This will help you to be safe from further allegations.
Alibi
It will be great if you can prove that you were not present at the crime spot at the stated time and you were somewhere else; this could be proved with certain evidence or witness. You can prove this through your GPS location or using other technological means like CCTV Footage etc.
Assess Any Possible Motives
A criminal advocate will assist you to discover what motives may exist on the part of you as well as your accuser. This is a very important lead to protect you, if you can prove that the accuser has a motive to falsely implicate you in a rape case then this will go in your favor. A motive of the accuser could be revenge; jealousy; or it could be anything which you have to analyze and prove.
Prove it was consensual
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 evidences that go in your favor that shows that the accuser and you did the act consensually and it was not a forced act.
Conclusion
Being falsely accused of a rape offense amounts to abuse of law and also wastes the important time of the courts and the police. Due to false cases, the real cases get overshadowed and do not receive the required attention. The laws need to evolve towards men and the third gender considering their sufferings too.
