Don’t Treat Woman’s Complaint Of Sexual Assault As Gospel Truth, HC Tells Police

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala High Court, in a recent order, cautioned the police against treating a woman’s complaint of sexual assault as the gospel truth. T

he court directed police not to carry out a one-sided investigation in such matters, but hear both sides before taking any action.

Noting that a one-sided approach could lead to false implications, causing irreparable damage to the accused’s reputation, Justice P V Kunhikrishnan observed that during a criminal investigation, officers will have to examine the claims of both the complainant and the accused to get to the truth.

He said that if officers come to know during investigations that a woman is falsely accusing a man of sexual assault, they are within their rights to take legal action against her. He also assured the officers that they need not fear repercussions for such action, as the law will protect them if they act in good faith, based on proper findings.

Justice Kunhikrishnan referred to the growing trend to falsely implicate innocents and observed: “The damages caused to a citizen because of false implication cannot be compensated by payment of money alone. His integrity, position in society, and reputation can be ruined by a single false complaint. The police authorities should be alert and vigilant, to find the truth in criminal cases during the investigation stage itself.”

The court was hearing the bail petition of one Noushad K, who was accused by a female employee in 2024 of grabbing her arm with sexual intent. Noushad moved the High Court and submitted that the allegations are false and also provided audio recordings that allegedly revealed threats from the complainant. He also submitted that the complaint had been lodged by the woman after she was dismissed from her job for poor performance.

The court granted bail to Noushad but ordered him to cooperate in the investigation, as and when required by the police. He has also been ordered not to attempt to influence witnesses.

In 2022, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had passed a similar order.