The Allahabad High Court recently directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate a woman and her lawyer for allegedly filing multiple false rape and criminal cases against several men to extort money. The Court observed that the duo appeared to be colluding to lodge fabricated complaints against numerous individuals.
The order was passed by a bench comprising Justices Brij Raj Singh and Vivek Chaudhary while hearing a plea for protection from arrest filed by one of the accused. The bench stated,
“Considering the seriousness of the allegations with regard to the lodging of a large number of criminal complaints by the victim/informant Pooja Rawat through her counsel Shri Parmanand Gupta against a large number of persons, of similar nature, we feel it appropriate to direct the CBI to enquire into the matter and submit its report.”
The case came to light when the petitioners approached the Court seeking to quash a First Information Report (FIR) dated January 30, filed under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act. They also requested protection from arrest, coercive action, or any inquiry against them.
The petitioners’ counsel argued that the informant, Pooja Rawat, has a history of filing false complaints, having lodged 11 previous FIRs against multiple individuals, with the current case being her 12th. It was further alleged that all her complaints were filed through the same lawyer, Advocate Parmanand Gupta.
The State counsel informed the Court that similar complaints had been filed under different offenses, and the current FIR followed the same pattern. He also noted that Gupta had filed numerous criminal cases and FIRs against various individuals.
After examining the facts, the Court remarked,
“It is also apparent that the informant and her counsel are in collusion with each other and have lodged false FIRs against a large number of people for serious offenses only to extract money from them. The present FIR is also such an FIR lodged to create pressure.”
The Court directed the CBI to investigate the matter and submit its report by April 10. It also granted protection from arrest to the petitioners.
Advocates Mohd Anas Khan, Amardeep Yadav, and Vaibhav Singh represented the petitioners in the case.