JUDGMENT

P. Sathasivam, J.— Leave granted.

2. This appeal is directed against the final judgment and order dated 8.11.2012 passed by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in Special Criminal Application No. 2206 of 2012 whereby the High Court dismissed the petition filed by the appellant herein.

3. Brief facts:

(a) The appellant herein is an American Citizen of Indian origin who came to India on 9.3.2010 to see her ailing father-Kantilal Ambalal Patel. Kantilal Ambalal Patel is having a number of properties in the form of lands, flats and societies in the State of Gujarat. Arvind Jani and Jayesh Dave are very close friends of the father of the appellant. They cheated the father of the appellant in respect of a land dealing at Rajkot against which Civil Suit No. 186 of 2010 was filed in the Court at Rajkot wherein the said suit was decreed in the favour of the appellant herein. The present appeal pertains to the land situated at Vadodra in the name of Gayatrinagar Cooperative Housing Society Limited (group of five societies).

(b) Since certain disputes arose with respect to the above said land at Vadodra which, as per the appellant herein, belongs to her father and the appellant had a joint account with him, one Divyangbhai Jha filed an FIR being CR No. 5/2012 dated 21.5.2012 registered with Gandhinagar Police Station under Sections 406, 409, 420, 465, 467, 468,174, 120B and 477A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short ‘the IPC’) against the appellant herein and 7 other accused persons in respect of grabbing of lands of cooperative societies using forged/fabricated government permission letters.

(c) On 23/24.5.2012, the appellant herein was arrested at about midnight. On 24.5.2012, she was produced before the Judicial Magistrate and an application for remand was preferred by CID Crime, Ahmedabad. On the very same day, Judicial Magistrate granted remand for a period of 5 days.

(d) It was alleged by the appellant herein that from the very first day of remand, she was repeatedly raped in police custody by Jayesh Dave, Divyangbhai Jha (the complainant in above said FIR), A.A. Shaikh, the investigating officer and also by an unknown person. However, Arvind Jani was present throughout the period of remand. It was further alleged that after the period of remand, she was sent to the Central Jail, Sabarmati, Gujarat without following the procedures prescribed under law.

(e) On 20.6.2012, she wrote an e-mail to Ms. Deepa Mehta, U.S Citizens Services in U.S Consulate, Mumbai describing the entire incident of rape and the atrocities meted out to her. It was also alleged in the said e-mail that Arvind Jani and Jayesh Dave, in connivance with one Aman Shah, owner of a vernacular daily known as Gujarat Samachar got the complaint filed directly to the CID (Crime & Railways) to the effect that Kantilal Ambalal Patel and others are not the office bearers of the above said cooperative society at Vadodra. On 11.7.2012, the appellant herein was released on bail by the High Court of Gujarat.

(f) On 14.7.2012, the appellant filed a complaint under Section 376 read with Section 120B of the IPC to the Police Inspector, Meghani Nagar Police Station, Ahmedabad narrating the alleged offence cited above to have occurred during the period of remand. On the very same date, based on the instructions of the Additional Commissioner of Police, Sector II, the investigation in respect of the above offence was transferred to the Mahila Police Station. It was alleged by the appellant herein that in spite of the complaint regarding a serious offence of rape, no FIR was lodged at Mahila Police Station. Vide notices dated 15/16.7.2012, the Police Inspector, Mahila Police Station called her to record her statement, but she refused to give any statement on the pretext of non-filing of FIR.

(g) Being aggrieved by the non-filing of FIR, the appellant herein filed Special Criminal Application No. 2206 of 2012 before the High Court praying for a direction to the aut