The court was hearing a petition filed by Captain Rakesh Walia contesting a decision of the Delhi high court in July last year turning down his appeal to quash the rape complaint made against him.
The Supreme Court rejected a rape complaint filed in Delhi against a senior army commander noting that the complainant raised similar charges against eight other people and neither joined the police probe not attended before the top court despite being sent a summons.
“Given the circumstances and the nature of the case, we believe that the criminal case brought against the appellant is nothing more than an abuse of the legal system.” According to a bench led by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia.
The order was pronounced by the court on February 25 but uploaded recently.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Captain Rakesh Walia challenging a decision of the Delhi high court in July last year turning down his plea to quash the rape case lodged against him.
The bench, also comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran said, “This is precisely the nature of case where the high court ought to have exercised its inherent powers under Section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure (section 528 of BNSS) and should have quashed the proceedings.”
According to the complainant, a 39-year-old housewife with two daughters, she has been living apart from her husband for the past three years. She said in her police report that she had previously worked as a freelance model but had quit and was now looking for employment. Because of this, she was able to connect with Walia on Facebook. The woman went on to say that Walia requested her to meet with him about a modelling assignment and promised her a career possibility.
On December 29, 2021, the two finally met in the afternoon at the Chhatarpur metro station. The complaint claims that she was offered a cold, tainted drink after entering Walia’s vehicle. She was allegedly raped and assaulted in a desolate location after ingesting it, after which she passed out. Walia received a call from the police shortly after the complaint was filed at the Mehrauli police station.
Walia, through his attorney Ashwani Kumar Dubey, noted in his appeal before the Supreme Court that he is a decorated army officer and the author of five novels, several of which are best-sellers.
The bench said, “The fact that the same respondent has brought essentially identical complaints against at least eight additional people is the most alarming issue before this court. According to the Indian Penal Code, these FIRs, which have been filed in several police stations throughout Delhi, concern crimes involving rape, criminal intimidation, and outraging a woman’s modesty.
It stated, “We have been informed that the complainant has not cooperated with the investigation after lodging the FIR and has not appeared before this court despite being served with notice.”
We don’t see any justification for the appellant to go through a procedure that is obviously abused. The bench declared, “Therefore, the criminal proceedings brought against the appellant are hereby quashed.”