New Delhi, A court here has directed the Delhi Police to register an FIR against a man for pressuring and mentally abusing his 17-year-old daughter to get a false POCSO case lodged against his relatives to settle a personal score.
Additional Sessions Judge Anu Aggarwal was hearing a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act provisions, alleging that the minor’s maternal relatives and a lawyer had molested her.
The judge noted that the investigating officer had submitted a closure report, including several call recordings containing audio and video files, showing that a false case was registered on the basis of the girl’s complaint at the instance of her father.
In an order dated April 3, the court noted that according to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory report, the recordings were of the complainant and those had not been tampered with.
“It is clear from the FSL report that the complainant blatantly lied before the court when audio and video recordings were shown to her. A bare perusal of the transcripts on record, which are contained in nearly 123 pages in the closure report, shows that a false case was registered by the complainant at the instance of her father,” the court said.
“It is clear from the records that the complainant has filed a false complaint at the instance of her father. She went to the extent of dragging all her maternal uncles, maternal grandmother, maternal aunt and an advocate in this case,” it added.
The court noted that an FIR was registered against the minor’s father on a complaint from his sister-in-law for the offence of rape. Even his wife had got a complaint filed against her husband alleging rape, and the man pressured her daughter to get the false case filed to “settle the ongoing dispute” and receive a favourable order in the cases against him, the court said.
“This case is a classic case, which shows how the complainant’s father misused the provisions of law not only to settle his personal score with his relatives but also to deter the advocate, whose only fault was that he was giving his professional services to those relatives,” the judge said.
Regarding how the false accusations came to light, the court noted that the minor’s mother and sister had several conversations with her over the phone, where they recorded the complainant’s statements about getting the false case registered.
The recorded audio and video clips were then sent to the IO, it pointed out.
“The complainant’s father got a false case registered through the complainant. Rather, he mentally abused the complainant, and by forcing her to file the false complaint, he also caused mental agony to the complainant,” the court said.
It added that the minor found herself “churned between her mother and father” and that her state of helplessness, fear regarding her future and fear of her father could be inferred from the recorded audio and video clips.
The court said the girl was “mentally abused” by her father.
“It is high time that such litigants, such as the father of the complainant, who misuse the provisions of law to their own personal advantage should be dealt with strictly and strict action is warranted against them. It is because of such litigants that even genuine cases are looked upon with suspicious eyes by the general public,” it said.
Accepting the closure report, the court directed the station house officer concerned to register an FIR against the father of the girl under section 22 of the POCSO Act.
The court also observed that when an advocate is falsely implicated in a “serious case”, it could deter other advocates from offering their professional services to victims, fearing false accusation from the other side.
“If advocates are unable to give their professional services without any fear, it would lead to the crumbling down of the judicial system,” the judge said.
The court lamented that the benevolent POCSO provisions, meant to check the alarming rise in child-sexual-abuse cases and protect children from heinous offences, such as sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography, are being arm-twisted and misused.
“The objective of the Act is to ensure the right of all children to safety, security and protection from sexual abuse and exploitation.
“However, sometimes, those very children are exploited by their parents and are forced to file false complaints for ulterior motives. The provisions of POCSO are misused by some litigants out of personal vendetta, which poses a serious threat to the society in general and to the entire justice-delivery system in particular,” the court said.
The IO filed his closure report in April 2024, following which the complainant filed a protest petition and, upon being examined in the court, denied the authenticity of the recordings.
The court then ordered further investigation and also sought an FSL report.
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