Overview
- The division bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Rajesh S. Patil delivered the order on August 20, quashing the case against 69-year-old Premsukh Kisandas Kataria.
- The FIR, registered on July 31, 2014 at Daund Police Station, had invoked IPC sections 376, 417 and 506 along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
- The court noted the complaint followed Kataria’s 2013 criminal case against the woman and highlighted an 18-year delay during which two children were born in 1999 and 2001.
- The bench said there was no material to substantiate allegations of rape or caste-based offences and found the complaint not genuine and lodged with mala fide intention.
- Defense counsel argued the case sought to damage Kataria’s political career, while the complainant’s counsel cited his refusal to marry and opposition to DNA testing to support her claims.