Don't treat sexual assault complaint by woman as gospel truth; examine accused version too: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently cautioned police against unilateral investigation in sexual assault cases based solely on the complainant's statement, especially when the complainant is a woman [Noushad K v State of Kerala & anr]..The Court said that such an approach could lead to false implications and irreparable damage to the accused's reputation.Justice PV Kunhikrishnan observed that during a criminal investigation, officers must examine the claims of both the complainant and the accused, rather than treating the woman's version as the gospel truth. He said that if during the investigation, police officers find that a woman has falsely accused a man of sexual assault, they are within their rights to take legal action against her."There cannot be any unilateral investigation of the case put up by the complainant alone. Merely because the de facto complainant is a lady, there is no presumption that, in all cases, her versions are gospel truth, and the police can proceed based on her statement without considering the case of the accused," the Court said.He assured the investigating officers that they need not fear repercussions for taking such actions, as the law would protect them if they act in good faith based on proper findings.The judge stressed on the growing trend of cases where innocents were being falsely implicated and emphasised that monetary compensation cannot undo the damage to their reputation and urged the police to ensure fair and thorough probe."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 said..Noushad K, a 57-year-old man, was accused of sexually assaulting a female employee (de facto complainant) working at his company. The incident allegedly occurred on December 20, 2024, when Noushad, as per the complainant, grabbed her arms with sexual intent.A crime was registered under Section 75(1) (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Badiadka Police Station.However, Noushad approached the High Court with a bail petition claiming that the allegations made by the female employee were false and were in retaliation for dismissing her from the company due to her poor performance and inefficiency.Supporting his claim, he submitted an earlier police complaint, a receipt of the complaint, and an audio recording in which the complainant allegedly issued threats.During the bail proceedings, the petitioner's counsel argued that the police had failed to investigate the accused's complaint before registering the case against him.The prosecution, however, maintained that the allegations against the petitioner were serious and warranted further inquiry..Upon reviewing the submissions, the Court found that the police had neglected to investigate the accused's complaint which was received by the authorities before the female employee's complaint and noted that even the audio evidence was not considered before registering a case against the accused.The Court thus warned officials not to blindly accept a woman's complaint as the absolute truth and stressed that investigating officers must be careful while registering criminal cases from the initial stage itself and thoroughly assess all material evidence available before them."The police authorities should be alert and vigilant, to find the truth in criminal cases during the investigation stage itself. Nowadays, it may take years to consider the case of such innocent persons by a court of law, if a charge sheet is filed. In such situations, the investigating authorities should think twice before registering and filing charge sheets in such cases.....Hence, it is the duty of the police to separate the chaff from the grain, before submitting final reports in criminal cases," the Court added..Considering the evidence and referring to past rulings, the Court granted bail to the Noushad, subject to stringent conditions, where he was directed to cooperate with the investigation, refrain from any actions that could influence witnesses and submit the audio evidence to the police for further inquiry..The petitioner was represented by advocates R Anas Muhammed Shamnad, TU Sujith Kumar, CC Anoop, Thareek TS, Hamdan Mansoor K, and KK Dheerendrakrishnan. Senior Public Prosecutor Hrithwik CS appeared for the state..[Read Order]