Allahabad High Court dismisses application for quashing of Summoning order in rape trial

On July 12^th 2024, the Allahabad High Court at Lucknow rejected an application for quashing an order summoning the accused in   a criminal trial on charges of rape. In delivering this judgment, Honourable Justice Abdul Moin observed that the claims made by accused in the application were due to a personal vendetta against the prosecutrix and no evidences were presented that could substantiate the claims.

The prosecutrix filed a complaint against the accused under Sections 376 (rape), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 354C (voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. During trials, the lower court ordered under Sections 200 and 202 of the CrPC, that the accused should be summoned to stand trial on December 22,  2023.

This was followed by a revision petition against the order of summon, wherein, the order for summon of the accused was upheld. The accused thereafter made an application for the nullification of both the orders dated June 7, 2024, and December 22, 2023, under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 before the High Court.

Upon listening to the cases of the applicant (accused) and the prosecutrix, Justice Abdul Moin emphasised upon the seriousness of the accusations. By doing so, the court held that the Counsel for accused (applicant) was unable to indicate as to how the order impugned dated 21.12.2023 and the order passed by the revisional court dated 07.06.2024 are perverse.

The court further observed that the only accusation levied upon the complainant was that she and her husband had filed the case against accused out of personal vendetta. However, the applicant’s Counsel was unable to establish those charges.