Emphasising that innocent men need to be protected against false
allegations of rape, a Delhi court has acquitted an 82-year-old man of a
rape charge levelled against him by a maid employed through a placement
agency.
“There is a spurt in false rape cases by maids against their employers by illegally invoking laws relating to sexual abuse. This trend requires to be nipped in the bud and the precious time of government agencies like the police and the judiciary should not be wasted,” additional sessions judge Nivedita Anil Sharma said.
It was a “living example” of a placement agency’s maid citing false rape allegations against her old and ailing employer only to “achieve her selfish ends of extorting money above her salary”, the court said, adding, the government should frame guidelines for regulating placement agencies supplying domestic helps.
“In my view, it is time that we as a civil society stand up not to only protect, shelter and rehabilitate a rape victim but also to protect and shelter an accused against whom false allegations of rape have been levelled,” the judge said.
The court said a copy of the order should be sent to the secretaries of the ministry of law and justice of the centre and the Delhi government, chairpersons of the National Commission for Women and Delhi Commission for Women and commissioner and additional commissioners (west) of Delhi Police in order to keep them informed.
According to police, the 18-year-old maid, was allegedly raped by the senior citizen several times in his house between August 2010 to July 2011 and she was threatened not to disclose it.
The police said when the maid informed the accused’s wife, she slapped her, permanently damaging her left eye.
In July 2011, the maid approached the police with a woman and her husband. The woman alleged the maid had been raped by the accused.
The court acquitted the senior citizen saying, considering his advanced age of 82 years, “it cannot be believed that such an act could be committed forcibly by him.”
“There is a spurt in false rape cases by maids against their employers by illegally invoking laws relating to sexual abuse. This trend requires to be nipped in the bud and the precious time of government agencies like the police and the judiciary should not be wasted,” additional sessions judge Nivedita Anil Sharma said.
It was a “living example” of a placement agency’s maid citing false rape allegations against her old and ailing employer only to “achieve her selfish ends of extorting money above her salary”, the court said, adding, the government should frame guidelines for regulating placement agencies supplying domestic helps.
“In my view, it is time that we as a civil society stand up not to only protect, shelter and rehabilitate a rape victim but also to protect and shelter an accused against whom false allegations of rape have been levelled,” the judge said.
The court said a copy of the order should be sent to the secretaries of the ministry of law and justice of the centre and the Delhi government, chairpersons of the National Commission for Women and Delhi Commission for Women and commissioner and additional commissioners (west) of Delhi Police in order to keep them informed.
According to police, the 18-year-old maid, was allegedly raped by the senior citizen several times in his house between August 2010 to July 2011 and she was threatened not to disclose it.
The police said when the maid informed the accused’s wife, she slapped her, permanently damaging her left eye.
In July 2011, the maid approached the police with a woman and her husband. The woman alleged the maid had been raped by the accused.
The court acquitted the senior citizen saying, considering his advanced age of 82 years, “it cannot be believed that such an act could be committed forcibly by him.”
No comments:
Post a Comment