HC issues notice to Punjab, legislator over plea of 'rape victim'

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 14

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today put the state of Punjab and an MLA on notice on a petition filed by a woman seeking the quashing of an FIR registered against her at the Jhulkan police station under the provisions of the Information Technology Act for allegedly “capturing an obscene video and circulating it in public view”.

Taking up the matter, Justice Raj Mohan Singh also fixed September 21 as the next date of hearing. Describing herself as “a rape victim”, the women contended that she filed a criminal complaint against the sitting MLA on August 22 before the Zirakpur police station. In the complaint, she alleged rape on the false pretext of marriage cheating, bigamy, threat to life and liberty, besides criminal intimidation and outraging the modesty in public view.

She added the SHO declined to receive the complaint. It was then sent to the SHO, the SSP concerned and Punjab DGP through registered post. It was not even looked into as a sitting MLA’s name was involved.

Her counsel added that the police officials were not taking any action and the petitioner was being harassed and threatened to not pursue her complaint regularly on the social media. He added that the petitioner also filed a petition before the High Court and a status report from the police officials was directed to be filed by September 21.

He added: “The petitioner is openly a target of criminal intimidation and bullying by the accused/respondent MLA as he is forcing by hook and crook to make the petitioner to withdraw the criminal complaint as well as petition before the High Court. He has used the local police, specifically the SHO, Zirakpur police station, and got the false FIR registered as a counter to her complaint”.

He further added the FIR’s bare reading showed that the petitioner was alleged to have captured an obscene video before circulating it in public view. But there was no discussion or mentioning of any electronic or digital device or mode through which it was shown or even assumed that the petitioner was directly or indirectly involved in the capturing or circulating the alleged obscene video.

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