Woman sentenced to four years for false rape accusation; Court orders equal jail time as accused

LUCKNOW: The court sentenced a woman who gave a false statement in a rape case to four years in prison. The Bareilly court in Uttar Pradesh sentenced the 21-year-old to 1653 days in prison. The court ruled that the young woman should also serve the same sentence as the accused in the rape case. The young man served four years, six months and eight days in prison. Additionally, a fine of Rs 5.88 lakh has been imposed. If the fine is not paid, she will face another six months in jail.

The woman filed a police complaint in 2019, alleging that she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Subsequently, the 25-year-old man was arrested. During the trial, the woman changed her statement, denying that the 25-year-old had abducted and assaulted her. As a result, a case was registered against the woman for giving false testimony and she was later arrested. The court then issued a sentence against her.

The 25-year-old man was acquitted by the court after the woman recanted her statement. The court ruled that the fine represented the income the young man would have earned during his imprisonment. The man was incarcerated from September 30, 2019 to April 8, 2024.