The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Two judges of the Allahabad high court recently made controversial observations regarding complaints filed by women.
In the first case, Justice Siddharth said that because Indian society does not accept live-in relationships, women in such relationships are “left with no option but to lodge” a first information report (FIR) against their live-in partners after breaking up.
In the second, Justice Krishan Pahal said that Indian society has “undergone a complete change” during the past 40 years and “now it is more often observed that false implication in sexual offences is on a rise”.
‘Indian society does not accept live-in relationships’
Hearing the bail application of a person who was accused by his live-in partner of “false promise to marry” – which can be the basis for filing rape charges, Justice Siddharth held on February 14 that the case was actually one where “the disastrous consequences of live-in relationship has come on the scene (sic)”.
He said that live-in relationships are not easily acceptable in Indian society.
“It is difficult for a woman to live alone after breaking of live-in relationship. The Indian Society at large does not recognizes such relationship as acceptable. The woman therefore is left with no option but to lodge first information report against her live-in partner, like in present case (sic),” the court added, according to LiveLaw.
The court granted bail to the accused, who was arrested in November last year.
LiveLaw reported that the complainant was a woman with whom Verma was living for the past 1-1.5 years. She was married previously and had two children. The woman became pregnant and claimed that Verma refused to marry her. Meanwhile, the accused claimed that there was no assurance of marriage when the live-in relationship started and the woman fully understood the consequences of the relationship.
Considering several grounds of the case and without commenting on the merit of it, the court granted bail to the accused.
‘False implication in sexual offences is on a raise’
In another case, the Allahabad high court opined that false accusations of sexual offences are on the rise while granting bail to a rape accused. Justice Krishan Pahal, in an order passed on February 16, said a long time has passed since the Supreme Court’s Bharwada Bhoginbhai Hirjibhai verdict in 1973, in which the top court “categorically opined that in the current non permissive Indian society, no girl would foist a false case of sexual assault against any person to avoid being maligned in society.”
He continued, “Much water has flown down the Ganges since passing of the aforesaid judgment by the Apex Court. The Indian society has undergone a complete change during the said period of about 40 years and now it is more often observed that false implication in sexual offences is on a rise. The inordinate delay in lodging the FIR is to be considered at the time of adjudicating the bail.”
The judge made the observation in a case in which the FIR was first sent for investigation at the Rohaniya police station of Varanasi by the Merut SSP. Later the FIR was lodged on September 9, 2019.
The accused claimed that the victim had levelled allegations of rape against them to counter the steps taken by him for “exposing” Chandra Mohan, a godman, with whose ashram the victim was associated. The accused also claimed that the medical examination of the victim revealed no external or internal injuries.
Bar and Bench reported that the accused claimed that they had been disciples of Chandra Mohan but were cheated by him and came to know about his illegal activities. Their revelations led to protests against Chandra Mohan.
The state counsel opposed the bail saying the accused had falsely created the story of the godman.
But considering the evidence on record, the delay in lodging the FIR and the fact that the trial was about to be completed, the court granted bail to the accused.