New Delhi: The Supreme Court, while hearing a case of an alleged rape by three persons from Bengaluru, has ruled that sex workers cannot accuse her customers of sexual assault if they refuse to pay her.
According to a report, a bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Amitava Roy observed that a court must examine the evidence provided by a woman alleging sexual assault, but should not take her statement as “gospel of truth.”
The apex court bench was hearing a plea by three men, who had challenged the Karnataka High Court’s ruling ordering their prosecution in a 20-year-old alleged gangrape case. They were accused of raping a woman, who worked as a maid in Bengaluru.
The woman had alleged that the men abducted her and took her to a garage where they took turns to rape her.
However, the truth came to fore when the woman’s roommate deposed as a witness and told the Supreme Court that the former used to take financial assistance from the accused men and indulged in prostitution after completing household work at her employers’ home.
"The woman had asked the three men for Rs 1,000 but they refused to give, so she filed a complaint against them thinking they would have no choice but to pay her the amount," said the witness.
The Supreme Court, which examined the case all over again, observed that the woman’s conduct during the alleged ordeal is unlike a victim of rape and betrays somewhat submissive and consensual disposition. The apex court acquitted the three men.
