Woman Pays The Price For Falsely Accusing Three Men Of Gangraping Her

A district court in Haryana just awarded a seven-year jail sentence to a woman who had accused three men of gang-raping her.

Seven years ago, a 28-year-old woman named Meenakshi had filed a complaint against a Rohtak Resident and his family members of sexually assaulting her. But seven years later, here she is now, preparing to serve her time in the prison.

Here’s what exactly happened:

A Brief Outline Of The Case

In the June of the year 2010, 28-year-old Meenakshi had filed a complaint against three men of gang-raping her after they gave her a lift in her car.

Meenakshi not only blamed the men of raping her but also claimed that she was forcibly married to one of her rapists. She also added that after the marriage, the alleged husband and her in-laws repeatedly raped her.

Meenakshi, including her husband, had filed the complaint of rape against eight people of her family. She then decided to knock on district court’s door for justice.

The Investigation And The Court Proceedings

The case was quickly registered and the investigation was started. When the matters were taken to a district court in Rohtak, Meenakshi’s testimony wasn’t found reliable by the court. The court quickly issued Meenakshi a show-cause notice.

A show-cause notice is where the court requires a party to provide reasons or justify why a certain action should or shouldn’t be performed. It is mainly required by the judge to drive out more information before deciding whether or not to issue an order requested by one of the parties.

Also Read: Nirbhaya: The Girl Who Changed A Nation’s Legislation

Meenakshi’s reply to the show-cause notice was not found satisfactory as a result of which she was convicted under Sections 195 (giving false evidence to procure conviction of an offense punishable by life imprisonment) and 211 (false charge of offense with intent to injure) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Additional sessions judge Ritu YK Behl also imposed a fine of INR 10,000 on the woman for falsely accusing three men of gang-raping her.

The Outcome

It’s not certain as to why Meenakshi accused her husband and her in-laws of mistreating her. It could’ve been motivated by a strong personal hatred or just by the lure of financial profits. Either way, the woman accused innocent people of her own benefits.

But I would like to highlight her method of doing so, here.

Accusing anyone of rape immediately brings the accused in a tough spot. As much as I hate to say this, our judicial system is not bilateral with its laws relating to rape as it doesn’t even recognize the fact that men too, can be the victims of rape.

According to a 2014 report published by Delhi Commission for Women, 53% of rapes reported in the city in 2013 were ‘false’. Men’s rights activists have more often than not stated revenge and financial advantages to being the reason behind these false rape allegations.

The decision of the Rohtak court does throw some light on the atrocities that blameless men have been facing because of this unarguable ‘era of feminism’. But as usual, this is just one of such particular cases that attained justice, explaining why it made the headlines.

So what about the rest? Will they ever be able to clear their name of such false allegations of rape and harassment? Or will they keep on getting ignored and being side-lined?

Image Credits: Google

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