Surgeon moves HC to frame rules for lodging post-breakup rape FIRs

MUMBAI: A Navi Mumbai-based surgeon has approached the

Bombay high court

against rape charges levelled against him by an actor. He has also urged the court to frame guidelines for the police on how to deal with

post-breakup sexual assault complaints

.

Anand Sharma

, the 27-year-old medical practitioner who works in a Kamothe hospital, has asked the court to consider whether women can file rape cases against their boyfriends or live-in partners after a relationship sours and over refusal to marry. “The court should consider framing guidelines and issue directions to the state and the director general of police to stop registering rape and cheating cases against men or rush to arrest them in cases where failed love relationships have led to FIRs against them,” the petitioner has urged.

This is the second such petition on the issue, months after the high court had expressed concerns over the rising number of rape cases registered after failed relationships and mentioned the need for guidelines for police. Last month, a Mumbai-based couple had moved the high court seeking framing of such norms. The matter is scheduled to come up before the high court on February 6.

Anand, who comes from a family of doctors, met Seema Kapoor (27), a theatre actor, through Facebook in May 2016. In her complaint, Seema alleged that Anand had invited her to his house in June 2016, where he drugged her and had sexual intercourse with her. Subsequently, she claimed they met at various places and had a sexual relationship after he promised marriage. In September 2016, she learned that Anand was seeing some other girl. He refused to take her calls, following which she lodged a complaint of rape and cheating against him at Oshiwara police station. Anand, in his petition, said he never had a sexual relationship with Seema. A sessions court granted him pre-arrest bail in December 2016. Anand, who is represented by lawyers Mahesh Vaswani and Suhail Shariff, had urged the high court to examine misuse of rape laws. “The law on the subject essentially needs to be settled and such love affairs need to be treated as consensual relations by the police. The state must stop arresting and jailing male partners, lovers or live-in partners when women or girls come with allegations that her partner had promised marriage and so she had physical relations with him. Such allegations in a statement should not be prescribed as rape or cheating at all,” the petition contends.

Under Indian Penal Code Section 375 a man is said to commit rape when he has intercourse against a woman’s will. If consent is obtained by drugging or threatening her or making her believe he is her husband, it is still rape. In a recent case, HC ruled that instances where consent is obtained by fraud include cases where the woman is illiterate or the man impersonates someone else or is married and hid the fact.

(All names changed)