A woman who has been raped would be in shock and cannot be expected to travel alone at night to a police station to lodge a complaint, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court observed while upholding a man’s conviction for raping a 35-year-old woman in 2017.
Justice Govind Sanap rejected the argument of the convict, who claimed there was a delay in filing the First Information Report (FIR) and alleged false implication to settle personal scores. The court noted that the survivor lodged her complaint early the next morning, at 6am, which was consistent with her circumstances and conduct.
“The victim was helpless. One can visualize the pain, agony, and trauma suffered by her after this incident. She must have suffered a shock of her life on account of such an outrageous act committed by the appellant. The appellant was known to her. It was night time. In such a state of mind, a woman is not expected to travel alone in the night to the police station, which is 15 kms. away from her residence, for lodging the report,” Justice Sanap said. The order was passed on December 20, but the detailed copy was made available on January 22.
The court further observed that the survivor did not visit the police station alone but was accompanied by a friend the next morning. “This fact shows that the prosecutrix (survivor) needed the support of someone in this crisis situation. In view of this, the delay per se would not go against the case of the prosecution,” the judge said.
Justice Sanap emphasised the need to consider factors such as the trauma experienced by the victim and sociological circumstances when evaluating delays in filing FIRs in rape cases. “No self-respecting woman would come forward in court to make a humiliating statement against her honor such as is involved in the commission of rape. The inherent bashfulness of females and tendency to conceal outrage of sexual aggression are factors the court cannot overlook,” he underscored.
The survivor testified that the incident occurred on the night of March 25, 2017, at her home in a village in Amravati district. The accused,a known person, tried to force himself on her when she was sitting in the courtyard. She freed herself and ran in the house and telephoned a friend for help. However, the man followed her in the house and raped her. The friend went to the house and admonished the man, who ran away. The following day, the friend accompanied the woman to lodge a complaint.
