Gwalior: The Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday sentenced a girl, her father, and her brother to six months imprisonment each for false rape allegations on a man in order to avail abortion, as well as constantly changing statements during hearings.
The issue, stemming from a case registered at Datia Police Station in the district back on March 8, 2021, saw the father of the 'victim' allege at the time that a man in the locality had raped his minor daughter, causing her to become pregnant. Subsequently, the accused - identified as one Sonu Parihar - filed a bail plea, leading to the case being reassessed again.
The order, passed by the bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia, observed that the man arrested following a false rape allegation was used to get the 'victim' access to abortion, adding further that the trio had suppressed the fact that the woman had become pregnant after conceiving from her cousin brother.
Also read: Conviction can't be based solely on extra judicial confession if not duly proved: SC
"The prosecutrix and her father have been held guilty of committing contempt for filing the complaint on false averments and by taking advantage of the said order, they have succeeded in getting her aborted whereas the fact that she got conceived from her cousin's brother Bhagwat Yadav was conveniently suppressed.
The innovative method adopted by the prosecutrix and her father to kill an unborn baby is against the very purpose of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 and the same cannot be taken in a light manner," the court further observed, noting that a DNA test result had identified that the initial suspect was not the father to the fetus.
The second count of contempt relates to the constant change in statements, as the bench stated the father of the girl had frequently reversed his accounts and had even said the first time that both he and his daughter had turned hostile before the trial court 'with pressure from the local council'. All three were charged under sections 215, 315, and 316 of the IPC.
