Is Marriage Enough to Quash Rape Charges: This case is 40 years old, but it has become a noose around the neck of Dawood Bandu Khan. In 1984, Dawood fell in love with a minor girl living in his neighbourhood. His 17-year-old girlfriend’s mother did not approve of his relationship. The girl’s mother lodged a complaint of rape and kidnapping against Dawood Khan at DB Marg police station in Mumbai. Dawood Khan was arrested. However, Dawood Khan somehow managed to get bail and came out of jail. When his girlfriend became an adult, he married her. After marriage, he moved to Agra where he had four children.
But the real twist was still left in the story. Now Mumbai Police has arrested Dawood Khan, who was absconding for the last 40 years in the kidnapping and rape case, from Agra (Uttar Pradesh). Mumbai court had declared Dawood Khan a fugitive after he failed to appear in January 2020. Now 70 years old, Dawood Bandu Khan had made a big mistake at that time, the consequences of which he is having to suffer. He did not inform the police and the court about his marriage and the agreement with his mother-in-law and had gone to Agra. Now the wife and mother-in-law of the accused are no more in this world. In such a situation, there is no one to withdraw the complaint lodged against him. So now he will have to face the court as a rape accused. There is no one in the world who can prove his innocence.
The court should have been informed about the reconciliation
According to a report published in Indian Express, Dawood Khan’s first child was born in Mumbai itself. But after that the couple went to Agra without telling anyone and settled there. A police officer said that before leaving for Agra, the couple should have informed the police and the court that the matter has now been resolved and both of them have got married. But Dawood Khan himself admitted that he has now married the girl (the victim in the case), hence the case was closed. But during this time the court kept issuing summons in his name and he kept failing to appear. The result was that after 40 years, Dawood Khan had to go to jail.
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What does Delhi High Court say?
Keeping Dawood Khan’s case in mind, let us try to know what the law says on this. However, the stand of the law is very clear in this matter that a heinous crime like rape cannot be forgiven. Nor can the accused be released merely on the basis that he is ready to marry the victim. According to a legal website named LeadIndia.Law, in one such case, the Delhi High Court had said that marrying the victim is not enough to eliminate rape charges. The court rejected this argument and said, “Even if there is a reconciliation, it is in the interest of the society that punishment be given.” During the case, the court said, “Dealing in a case where the nature of the crime is as serious as rape cannot be canceled even if it is settled by the accused and the victim.”
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…but the Supreme Court says this
Unlike the Delhi High Court, the Supreme Court dismissed an eight-year-old rape case when the accused and the complainant said that they were married and were happy. However, the Supreme Court left many legal questions unanswered. “After the FIR was registered, both the parties succeeded in resolving their differences and ultimately got married in the year 2014,” the court said in a judgment delivered three years ago. The FIR in the case was registered in 2013, in which it was alleged that the accused established sexual relations with the complainant on the false promise of marriage. The complainant as well as the accused had now told the court that they were enjoying a happy married life and the FIR was the result of some misunderstanding between the two parties. However, a Supreme Court judge believes, “Rape is not a crime against an individual, but against the entire society. The case under section 376 of the IPC should not be quashed and it should be considered a crime against the society at large.”
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What does the High Court lawyer have to say?
Lucknow High Court’s senior advocate Kaushalendra Sharma told News 18 that if the accused offers to marry the victim or gets married then the case can be closed. He said that in such a situation, the High Court has the right to dismiss the case after the marriage. In Dawood Khan’s case, Kaushalendra Sharma said that when the hearing takes place, he will also get relief. Because both the person who complained against him and the victim (who later became his wife) are no longer alive. Then he got married. His mistake is that he failed to inform the court and the police in time that reconciliation has taken place and both are living a happy married life.
Tags: DELHI HIGH COURT, Marriage, Rape Case, Supreme Court
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 9, 2024, 21:19 IST