The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an FIR filed against a man accused of raping a woman under the pretext of marriage and violating the SC/ST Act, calling the complaint a “bundle of lies” and a clear abuse of the legal process. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed that the accusations were filled with contradictions, manipulation, and lacked any credible evidence.
In its scathing order, the apex court noted that the woman, a 30-year-old highly educated individual, had initially alleged only a single incident in her 2021 FIR. However, in a subsequent 2022 FIR, she referenced 4-5 earlier incidents—some predating the initial complaint—raising serious doubts about the credibility of her narrative. The court found it “inherently improbable” that such critical details would be omitted from the first FIR if they had truly occurred.
The man had approached the Supreme Court after the Telangana High Court refused to quash the FIR. During the proceedings, the apex court also discovered that the complainant had filed a similar complaint against an assistant professor at Osmania University, further undermining her credibility.
Most damning were the WhatsApp chats retrieved from the complainant’s phone. In them, she admitted to being manipulative, spoke of “trapping” a green card holder, and even confessed to using the accused. She mentioned her strategy of irritating her victims until they dumped her, allowing her to move on to the “next one.” These revelations, the court said, reflected a vindictive and obsessive behavioural pattern.
The bench further held that the accused was justified in backing out of the proposed marriage after learning about the woman’s aggressive and erratic behaviour. Even if he did retract a promise to marry, the court ruled it did not constitute rape or a violation under the SC/ST Act, as no evidence supported the claim that sexual relations occurred under a false promise of marriage.
Calling the case a “gross abuse of the process of court,” the top court quashed the FIR in its entirety, making a strong statement against the misuse of serious legal provisions for personal vendettas.
