On Friday, September 1 in Srinagar, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh rejected the appeal of a Kupwara resident who had been charged with rape and the filming of nude recordings of a lady who had sought his assistance in order to free her brother from prison.
After reading the complaint that the FIR was based on, Justice Javed Iqbal Wani’s bench stated, “A bare perusal of the complaint where under the impugned FIR has originated… would reveal that the complainant… in unequivocal and explicit terms has alleged the commission of offence of rape besides the offence of cheating and criminal intimidation against the petitioner herein (accused).”
The court stated, “The veracity or otherwise of the said allegations and counter allegations levelled by the accused petitioner herein ought to be looked and inquired into by the investigating agency vested with the power thereof.” This means that the court will not investigate whether or not the allegations in the FIR make out a cognizable offence or whether or not the allegations are genuine or unfounded.
The court found that the FIR clearly indicated that the lady had committed a crime under sections 376, 420, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.
The court then decided not to dismiss the FIR using its discretionary authority granted by section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
On May 9 of this year, after receiving a complaint from the victim, police in Kupwara reportedly opened an investigation into possible violations of sections 376, 420, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (FIR 97/2023).
She said that her brother was being held in a prison outside of J&K, and that she, an ignorant lady, had gone to the accused, Irshad Ahmad Ganie, because she knew he could assist her get her brother released.
The lady further said that she paid Rs 3 lakh to the Ganie, who she accused of committing rape and molestation on her many times.
She further claimed that the accused had captured her naked films and images and threatened to share them publicly and with her in-laws and spouse if she ever told anybody about them.
