"Rape Has Ability To Destroy Whole Personality Of Survivor": Delhi High Court Denies Bail To Man Accused Of Raping His Daughter In Law

Observing that the act of rape has the ability to scar the mental psyche and destroy the entire personality of the survivor, the Delhi High Court has denied bail to a 65 years old man accused of raping his own daughter in law. 

Justice Subramonium Prasad denied bail and observed thus:

"Rape is not merely a physical assault; it is often destructive of the whole personality of the survivor. The act of rape has the ability to scar the mental psyche of the survivor and this trauma can persist for years."

The Court was of the view that the man was accused of a very heinous offence i.e. raping his own daughter-in-law and the fact that the FIR was filed after two months does not mean that the prosecutrix had filed a false case.

"It is stated in the FIR that the prosecutrix was scared and was reluctant to tell her parents about the incident, but when she was repeatedly harassed and raped by the petitioner herein, she mustered the courage and informed her parents about the incident," the Court added. 

The FIR was registered under Sections 323, 376, 506, 313, 377, 354 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code on the basis of the statement of prosecutrix wherein she stated that her husband used to beat her and had subjected her to unnatural sex several times.

It was further alleged that the one day, when she went to the room of the petitioner to give him tea, he caught hold of her hand and pulled her towards him and raped her. She further alleged that he raped her on 2-3 occasions.

She also alleged that he threatened her with dire consequences if she told anyone about the incident as a result of which she could not muster the courage to tell her parents.

Looking at the facts of the case, the Court opined thus:

"Rape is an extremely heinous offence which stipulates minimum punishment of 7 years and can go up to life. The petitioner is accused of a very heinous offence of raping his own daughter-in-law...Looking at the fact that the petitioner is the father-in-law of the prosecutrix, the possibility of threatening the prosecutrix cannot be ruled out at this juncture."

Accordingly the bail plea was rejected by the Court. 

However, in view of the fact that the petitioner was in custody since 01.08.2020, the Court directed the trial court to hear arguments on charge and examine the prosecutrix as expeditiously as possible, preferably within six months.

Case Title: AHSHAN ALI v. STATE

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