GUWAHATI: The Kerala High Court recently ruled that law enforcement authorities must not treat a woman’s sexual harassment complaint as the absolute truth without conducting a thorough investigation. It specified that police must carefully assess all evidence before registering cases to prevent wrongful prosecution.
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The ruling came while granting bail to one Noushad K., who was booked under Section 75(1) (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act. Noushad had moved the High Court seeking bail, arguing that the allegations on him by a female employee were false and were made in retaliation for her dismissal from his company over poor performance.
Supporting his claim, Noushad submitted an earlier police complaint he had filed against the woman, a receipt of the complaint, and an audio recording in which she allegedly issued threats. His counsel also contended that the police had failed to investigate his complaint before registering a case against him. The prosecution, however, maintained that the charges were serious and required further inquiry.
After reviewing the submissions, the court noted that the police had ignored the accused’s prior complaint and had not considered the audio evidence before filing the case. It cautioned that investigating officers must not blindly register complaints but instead examine all available material from the outset.
"The police authorities should be alert and vigilant, to find the truth in criminal cases during the investigation stage itself,” the court warned. “Nowadays, it may take years to consider the case of such innocent persons by a court of law if a charge sheet is filed."
Granting bail to Noushad with stringent conditions, the court directed him to cooperate with the investigation, refrain from influencing witnesses, and submit the audio recording to the police for further examination.