Overview
- A single-judge bench led by Justice Ranjitsinha R Bhonsale on June 10 dismissed a petition seeking to quash the FIR registered by Mumbai Police in 2019.
- The complaint says the alleged molestation happened on March 10, 2019 and the woman filed a formal complaint on April 2, 2019, after which an FIR was lodged.
- The court found the complainant’s statement prima facie makes out an offence under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code and directed that the accused’s defences be tested at trial.
- The accused argued the FIR was an afterthought, cited CCTV footage and alleged extortion demands by the complainant’s family, but the court held those claims did not establish mala fides sufficient to quash the case pre-trial.
- The order restates a narrow, prima facie standard for quashing FIRs and recognizes that social pressure often delays reporting, so courts must assess delay in context rather than dismiss prosecutions automatically.