Commenting on the development, criminal and cyber law practitioner Nishant Kumar Srivastava said, “Misuse of legal provisions and machinery, both by the police as well as some unscrupulous complainants, has eroded the faith of masses in the entire process of dispensation of justice in India. False complaints, that too about commission of grave offences like rape, scandalise society and raise a false alarm as to the safety and security of women in general and failure of the police in particular.”“Human dignity, human rights, right to life and personal liberty, and innocence of an accused till proved guilty are the touchstones of a criminal trial. However, unfortunately, in rape trials, as an exception these universally acknowledged principles are never observed. In fact, it becomes the other way round, the accused male is treated by the prosecution, society and many a time by the family too as a culprit and wrong doer from day one and thus he loses the most important facet of his existence guaranteed by Article 21 (Right to life and personal liberty) i.e. his dignity and his reputation,” he added.“While the reporting of an accusation of rape/ registration of an FIR is widely publicised, unfortunately the outcome of the trial if it ends in acquittal or the fact that the police did not find any evidence to file charge sheet is conveniently forgotten by the media and the society at large and the innocent person has to live with the stigma for the rest of his life, which adversely affects his career and his entire clan too,” he said.“Recently, Delhi High Court sentenced an IO (Sub-Inspector) to a one-day imprisonment for violating the rules of arrest laid down in Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar judgment,” Srivastava pointed out.“The rejection of the bail application of the lady who has moved the judicial machinery on false grounds is going to create much deterrence amongst such unscrupulous complainants and police officials. However, since the trial against the complainant and trial in all the rape cases are still pending, we may have to wait for the final outcome to conclusively arrive say that the complaints made by the prosecutrix were false and motivated,” he added.
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