Rape does not shake just the victim. It is a scintillating attack on the collective civilizational thought process. Protecting women’s integrity is the sole purpose of any civilization. It is the foundation of civilization. Rapists are not respected in the criminal community either. And then we find that rape cases are being settled with money.
Setting rape cases with money
In 2019, a woman filed an FIR against Binoy Kodiyeri, the elder son of CPI-M Politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. She alleged that Binoy had raped her. Fast forward to September 2022, when both parties settled the case, with the woman getting Rs 80 lakh from Binoy. Apparently, the Bombay High Court had no problems regarding it.
This is not the only instance of such settlements in recent years. In the very first week of August 2022, the Delhi High Court quashed rape charges on account of a settlement deed.
In May this year, the Karnataka High Court explicitly said that criminal proceedings can be quashed on account of settlement. In February of this year, a woman withdrew a rape case against her own father-in-law after getting 65 lakhs from her husband.
Evolution of settlement in rape cases
Though it is hard to believe, but settlement of rape cases is probably as old as English common law. In medieval England, unmarried accused were asked to marry the victim. The practise has been rampant in Indian courts as well. Cases like Baldev Singh v. State of Punjab, Ravindra v. State of MP, and Rahul v. State of NCT Delhi settled on the accused marrying the victim.
However, settlement with money is a relatively new phenomenon in Indian courts. One more reason it is strange is that settling a rape case is neither legally nor morally tenable.
Also read: 8 months, 550 rape cases in Mumbai: City of dreams turns into a city of rapes under Uddhav Sarkar
How is that even possible?
Talking about legality, rape is covered under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. Whether it can be settled or not is decided by Section 320 of the Criminal Procedure Code. A thorough reading of Section 320 explicitly states that rape cases can’t be settled. But, still, the courts are doing it? Sounds illegal?
Well, not technically. See, rape cases are mostly resolved in high courts and, in some cases, the Supreme Court. Under Article 142 of our Constitution, the Supreme Court has been conferred with virtually unchecked power to do anything for complete justice. The appellant in the case, K.DHANDAPANI v. THE STATE BY THE INSPECTOR OF POLICE has asked the court to invoke Article 142 for the settlement of rape cases. On the other hand, the High Courts do it through Section 482 of the CrPC.
In lots of cases, these courts tend to believe that settling rapes with money will do complete justice.
Also read: 74% of all rape cases filed in India are fake
Impact-Women’s dignity and fake cases
Unfortunately, it only does half of what it should. It does give monetary relief to women, whose chances of doing something for themselves are unfortunately restricted in society due to their status of rape survivor. However, her soul keeps getting crushed whenever she sees her rapist roaming free. In essence, asking a convict to give money is fine, but letting him go is not.
Moreover, it is not good for long-term prospects as well. On one hand, it incentivizes the rich brats of society to harm women, while on the other; it also enables criminal women to extort money by filing fake rape charges. We had earlier reported that 74 percent of fake cases in India are false. Even the Delhi High Court has expressed its concern about the same.
Our elders often complain that this is “Arth Yug.” What they mean by it is that money is the sole driver of today’s moral system. But even the pessimists of the bunch were optimistic about the fact that women’s integrity can’t be bought with money. Sadly, it turns out that our courts are enabling monetary settlements in rape cases.
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