Delay in lodging the FIR | A, an unmarried girl is raped by B. The father of the girl lodged the FIR against B after 7 days… Can the F.I.R. be relied upon by the court or the court should acquit the accused giving benefit of the doubt?

Question: Delay in lodging the FIR | A, an unmarried girl is raped by B. The father of the girl lodged the FIR against B after 7 days, explaining the delay. The father stated that members of the family took some time in lodging the F.I.R. because they were discussing whether to initiate the prosecution or not, as the honour of the girl was in question.

Can the F.I.R. be relied upon by the court or the court should acquit the accused giving benefit of the doubt? Give reasons supporting your answer and also refer to the case law on the point.

Find the answer to the mains question only on Legal Bites.[Delay in lodging the FIR | A, an unmarried girl is raped by B. The father of the girl lodged the FIR against B after 7 days… Can the F.I.R. be relied upon by the court or the court should acquit the accused giving benefit of the doubt?]

Answer

It was held in the case of Dharma Rama Bhagare v. State Of Maharashtra [1973 AIR 476] that FIR is not a substantive piece of evidence. It can only be used for “corroborating or contradicting its maker when he appears in court as a witness“.

In the facts of the Ramdas And Others v. State Of Maharashtra [7 November 2006], there was a delay of 8 days in lodging the commission of the offense of rape.

Hon’ble Supreme Court held that a mere delay in lodging the FIR will not affect the case but this amounts to a relevant fact which shall not go unnoticed and the reason for such delay must be inquired. The delay in lodging the FIR may be explained through the facts and circumstances of the case.

There are a lot of factors to be seen that can cause a delay in lodging the FIR like a threat to the witness, distance to the Police Station, mode of conveyance to the Police Station, there may be instances where the victim belongs to such strata of the society where she/he is not aware of their right to lodge FIR. Moreover, in the cases of sexual violence like rape, there is an initial hesitation to lodge such FIR and involves a lot of persuasion, mental and emotional support in order to lodge an FIR.

Such a situation arises because of personal stigma for the rest of her life, the social stigma attached, and the so-called honour and reputation of the family comes into the scenario. These are cases where the initial hesitation of the prosecutrix to disclose the true facts may provide a good explanation for the delay in lodging the report.

In the ultimate analysis, what is the effect of delay in lodging the report with the police is a matter of appreciation of evidence, and the court must consider the delay in the background of the facts and circumstances of each case. Different cases have different facts and it is the totality of evidence and the impact that it has on the mind of the court that is important.

In the facts of the present case, a mere delay of 7 days in lodging the FIR will not be fatal to the case of the prosecutrix because the delay is well explained in the present case by her father due to the stigma attached to the sexual offenses. If the FIR is corroborated by other facts then the accused can be convicted upon the Court’s satisfaction.

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