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Quashes IT Act Charges Against Woman in Case
A Twist in the Tale: From Victim to Accused
In a case that reads like a legal thriller, the has partially quashed criminal charges against a woman who originally lodged a FIR but was later turned into an accused during investigation. Justice Manisha Batra, presiding over the , held that a woman cannot be charged under for living on her own earnings from .
The case originated from an FIR registered on , under , based on a statement by the woman alleging she was forcibly taken to an empty house in Banur and gang-raped by multiple men. However, during investigation, the police took a radically different view, concluding that the woman had voluntarily accompanied the accused persons for in exchange for payment, and that she, in with her husband and others including petitioner No.1 Ajaib Singh, had orchestrated the rape allegations to extort money from the accused men's families.
The police claimed that Ajaib Singh demanded ₹4 lakh from the mother of one accused, Parvinder Singh, and received ₹1 lakh from his sister and ₹5,000 from another person. Based on this, charges were framed against the woman under Sections 4 and 5 of the IT Act and , while Ajaib Singh faced a charge under alone.
The Legal Tangle: Can a Woman Be Charged for Her Own ?
The petitioners challenged the framing of charges, arguing that the police investigation was and that there was insufficient material to connect Ajaib Singh with . For the woman, it was argued that she could not be treated as an accused merely because the police changed its version of events.
The State and private respondents countered that at the , the court need only examine whether a case exists, not conduct a detailed appreciation of evidence. They contended that the material collected, including witness statements and electronic evidence, provided sufficient basis for the charges.
Court's Sharp Observation: Missing Ingredients
Justice Batra carefully examined the provisions of the IT Act. Section 4 punishes a person who
"knowingly lives, wholly or in part, on the earnings of the
of a woman or girl."
The court noted that the allegation against the woman was not that she lived on the earnings of another woman's
, but that she herself allegedly participated in
.
"There is no allegation in the present case that (petitioner no. 2) was receiving or appropriating the earnings of any other woman or girl or was acting as a tout or pimp on behalf of another prostitute. Thus, the basic requirement of Section 4 is absent,"
the court observed.
Similarly, Section 5 deals with procuring, inducing, or taking a woman for the sake of . The court found that no such role was attributed to the woman.
"The prosecution case is confined to the allegation that she herself accompanied the other accused persons and allegedly participated in sexual relations for consideration. There is no allegation that she procured or induced any other woman or girl for
,"
the court stated.
The court emphasized that even at the stage of framing charges, the allegations must disclose the
.
"A charge cannot be sustained merely because the investigating agency has mentioned a particular
in the
, when the facts alleged, even if taken at their face value, do not constitute the ingredients of that offence,"
Justice Batra held.
Charge Survives for Co-Accused
However, the court found sufficient material against Ajaib Singh to proceed on the charge. The prosecution specifically alleged that he demanded and received money from the family members of the accused in the underlying rape case, supported by statements and electronic evidence. The court ruled that whether these allegations are ultimately proved is a matter for trial, and at this stage, the material discloses the ingredients of .
The court also maintained the conspiracy charge under against the woman, finding that she acted in with Ajaib Singh and other co-accused.
Final Verdict: Partial Relief
Partly allowing the , the court quashed the charges under Sections 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act against the woman while maintaining the charge under against Ajaib Singh and the charge under Section 120-B read with against the woman. The trial court was directed to proceed with the case in accordance with law.
The judgment underscores a crucial : the mere mention of a in a does not justify framing charges if the facts alleged do not meet the essential ingredients of the offence. It also serves as a reminder that the court's scrutiny at the , while not requiring detailed evidence appreciation, must still ensure that the allegations are legally tenable.
