Today, while consuming my daily dose of legal news at Livelaw.in, I came across a story which filled me with cocktail of emotions - amusement, anger, anxiety, disgust, fear, horror, relief , emptiness - some of the few I am able to articulate but many more. Story was about the bail application, approved by Hon’ble Supreme Court (SC), of an Octogenarian (84 years old man) who was booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for raping a minor, allegedly. He could only get the reprieve from top court once DNA report clearly indicated that he has not fathered the child born on 5th July 2020 to the complainant. All courts below Hon’ble SC rejected his bail application despite his pleadings that he is unable to perform sexual activities at such an old age. Further Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta while rejecting his bail application recorded submission of Public Prosecutor that medical report of Octogenarian supports contention of the allegations essentially meaning he is possibly a fertile man adding to his troubles. In short, he could get bail (no other way owing to the nature of allegations) once the child was born and DNA test could be performed, delaying his bail which resulted into several months of his incarceration or may be more. Without going into details of case, which blogger is not privy to anyway, Hon’ble SC enlarged Octogenarian on bail, rightly so, as one of the major allegations of complainant was found false. Question one needs to ask if complainant can make false allegation about the paternity of child what else she can lie about. May be almost about anything. As per submission of Octogenarian to Hon’ble SC it is out of the landlord-tenant dispute a false case has been filed. This seems to be a classic example of how at the drop of a hat laws pertaining to rape and POCSO Act, not limited to, are being misused to settle civil disputes. Men of India are being fed to dogs. Their hard-earned respect and livelihood are shredded into pieces by women sozzled in the power of gender-biased laws. Above all whole eco-system is spinning round the clock in giving impetus to such false allegations by women. I hope now that Octogenarian has got the bail order from none other than Supreme Court of India he would be able to cope up with the trauma he had to endure and may continue to live peacefully, if allowed, in his remaining years in this world .
As a society we need to introspect where are we headed. It is an open secret that false rape cases by disgruntled live-in partners/girlfriends is norm now and rape, a heinous crime, is being trivialized day after day. Newspapers are filled with stories of gangs of girls/women working to extort money from men or implicate them in false rape cases state after state. Despite knowing the reality hands of cops are tied to register FIR in rape case as law is such. This gives an indication that all three pillars of democracy viz. the executive, the legislature and the judiciary are telling men of this country if they indulge in consensual sex outside marriage or before marriage, they would pay the price in terms of their lives, livelihood and respect. And it is quite possible last bastion, proviso in Indian Penal Code (IPC) 375, saving husbands (read men) from marital rape may fall soon causing all hell to break loose. If such brazen misuse of gender-biased laws continues the day is not that far when parents would stop praying to be blessed with sons and possibly repressive gender under the burden of gender-biased laws would declare war on opposite sex. Laws such as “Rape Law” were made so strict with presumption that no woman would lie about being sexually assaulted. It is now clear in the light of umpteen number of false rape cases not just presumption was wrong but there was no basis of such presumption except that in country like ours a woman has always been treated as goddess by society. But it seems women of country want society to treat them as just human beings and human being as such is very complex species capable of things which are unimaginable.
Before signing off this blogger firmly believes first step in making women mortal is to have gender-neutral laws and severely punishing those involved in filing false cases.
References:
1. Link to the story covering bail application of Octogenarian: https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/sc-grants-bail-to-84-year-old-man-after-dna-reports-161900
2. Rape Law: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/623254/
3. Link to false rape story (one such) : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/bombay-high-court-fines-woman-rs-25-000-for-false-rape-complaint-report-2285822
4. Order of Hon'ble High Court of Calcutta in the case of Octogenarian:
5. Order of Hon'ble SC granting bail to Octogenarian:
MRA Tikloo
