Delhi High Court: While disposing of a petition filed under Section 482 CrPC, the Single Bench of S.P. Garg, J. held that if the prosecutrix had made specific and clear allegations against the accused to have committed rape upon her, then the criminal proceedings against the accused cannot be quashed merely on the grounds that the prosecutrix has later retracted from her statement.
In the instant case, the prosecutrix, in her statement to the police, had implicated the petitioner for committing sexual assault upon her on the pretext to provide her job in his office. She also reiterated this version before the Metropolitan Magistrate. Later, a supplementary statement of the prosecutrix was recorded under Section 161 CrPC. She also filed an application to the SHO denying the allegations leveled by her in her previous complaint. Nevertheless, a charge-sheet had been filed against the petitioner for commission of offence under Section 376 IPC.
The High Court noted that the supplementary statement and the application moved before the SHO cannot be taken into consideration to throw away the earlier complaint of prosecutrix. The Court further added that it was to be ascertained during trial as to how and in what circumstances, the prosecutrix denied her earlier version or whether it was due to some threats or pressure, and it would be unsafe to quash the FIR/charge-sheet on the basis of the prosecutrix’s retraction from her statement. The petition was accordingly dismissed. [Dilip Kumar Gupta v. State (NCT of Delhi), 2017 SCC OnLine Del 6576, decided on January 18, 2017]
Good Judgment. Witness box in Trial Court room is made to take oath Every statement of complainant before police is irrelevant to convict or discharge the accused before Trial. where there accused was trying under section 482 Cr.P.C to bypass the Trial to make police as Supreme Authority