Court dismisses plea seeking Rs 20L damages

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 16

A local court has dismissed a civil suit filed by a resident of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh.

The petitioner had sought damages of Rs 20 lakh for mental harassment, agony, loss of reputation, loss of income and expenditure on account of ‘malicious’ prosecution caused by a local woman and police officials in a rape case registered against him on December 7, 2013, at the Sector 39 police station. However, he was acquitted by the court of Additional Sessions Judge on September 24, 2014.

In the civil suit, the petitioner stated that due to the ‘malicious’ prosecution, he had suffered mental agony and had to engage a lawyer to get bail. Further, he had to take leave from his touring job to attend court hearings, which caused him a loss of income.

In her reply, the woman averred that the civil suit was not maintainable. She was a divorcee and presently residing with her parents. She claimed that the plaintiff was acquitted by the court due to a lapse on the part of investigating agency. On merits, it was submitted that the plaintiff was acquitted only due to contradiction in the prosecution evidence.

The plaintiff’s counsel argued that the woman was a habitual complainant in rape cases, which fell flat as she turned hostile.

Findings of a trial court without any support of evidence in civil suit for malicious prosecution do not help the cause of such plaintiff. In view of this, the court dismissed the suit.