Chandigarh, May 22 -- Taking a stern view of the alleged misuse of stringent rape laws, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on a woman who later claimed that a gangrape complaint filed by her was the result of a "misunderstanding".
Justice Alok Jain passed the order while deciding a petition seeking cancellation of an FIR after both sides reached a compromise. Although the court accepted the settlement and quashed the case, it expressed serious concern over the manner in which grave allegations under Section 376-D of the Indian Penal Code were invoked and later withdrawn.
The High Court observed that casually invoking charges related to gangrape not only amounts to misuse of the criminal justice system but...