New Delhi: A woman from Himachal Pradesh, on Monday landed in trouble for telling the Supreme Court — that she had got her father a life sentence for raping her, by falsely deposing against him under duress from her mother.
Disbelieving the daughter's statement giving a clean chit to her father, a bench of Justices H.K. Sema and P.P. Naolekar asked a Shimla sessions court to begin criminal proceedings against her for the volte face within days of her father, Asha Ram, being convicted.
The apex court also dismissed Asha Ram's review petition challenging his conviction by the apex court in 2005.
The apex court bench asked the Shimla court to prosecute the woman under Section 191, 192 and 193 of the Indian Penal Code for making false statements before the apex court in her affidavit.
Exasperated by her sudden change in stance, the bench observed that either of her statements — telling the trial court that her father had raped her or absolving him of rape charges in an affidavit to the apex court — is false.
The bench said it was not inclined to believe her affidavit and set aside the November 17, 2005, ruling of the apex court when it had convicted the father and enhanced his five-year-jail term to life term.
The daughter had filed the affidavit on November 22, 2005, five days after her father was convicted by apex court. The bench suspected that she may have filed the affidavit in order to secure her father's release on bail.
The case dates back to 1988 when on the basis of the girl's deposition, the trial court had convicted the father, but awarded him a lighter sentence of five years.
The father approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which set aside his conviction. But the state government approached the Supreme Court against the high court ruling and the apex court convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment
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