NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Sanoj Kumar Mishra, a film director who had been detained since March 30 under serious charges, including rape. In its May 30 order, Justice Girish Kathpalia expressed concern over a perceived increase in fabricated sexual-offence complaints, using Mishra’s case as a cautionary example.
In court, the woman who initially accused Mishra filed an affidavit admitting that she and Mishra had been involved in a consensual live-in relationship in Mumbai. She stated that she only pursued the rape complaint after being influenced by individuals she described as Mishra’s rivals.
Moreover, the complainant explicitly informed the court that she “has no objection if the accused is released on bail.” This retraction played a crucial role in the High Court’s assessment of the case. Justice Kathpalia’s order underscored the detrimental impact of baseless accusations:
“This is yet another case, reflecting the recent trend of lodging false complaints of sexual offences. Every false complaint of sexual offences not just causes immense damage to the person accused of the offence, but also creates cynicism and distrust across the society, which leads to even the genuine victims of sexual offences suffer, as society starts suspecting her truthful complaint also to be false. Such false complaints have to be dealt with sternly.”
The judge warned that when false allegations circulate unchecked, they undermine public confidence in the justice system and can retraumatize genuine survivors of sexual violence by casting doubt on their claims.
