‘Act of Vengeance’: SC Quashes Rape FIR Against Govt Servant

The Supreme Court, on September 22, 2025, quashed a first information report (FIR) against a government servant accused of rape, finding that the complaint was lodged as an afterthought and an act of vengeance. The case pertained to a complaint filed by a woman who worked with the accused as a computer operator.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh observed that the woman, who had a son from her previous marriage, lodged the complaint against the accused, Assistant Revenue Inspector Suresh Khawse, only after he had already filed a complaint against her with the municipal authorities.

The bench noted, "The fact that the subject FIR was only lodged after the issuance of show-cause notice, which obviously has large real-world implications insofar as the complainant is concerned, leaves open a gaping possibility that the same was lodged as an afterthought and was a vehicle for vengeance for the impending consequences".

The appellant, Suresh Khawse, had challenged a judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dated January 27, 2025, which had refused to exercise its powers under Section 528 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita to quash the FIR and the charge sheet.

According to the facts of the case, the appellant and the complainant were colleagues in the Suhagi Municipal Corporation, and their friendship had progressed into a physical relationship. The woman claimed that she had made it clear to him that she was married and had a son, and he in turn had assured her that they would eventually be married. It was then alleged that on March 15, 2023, the appellant called the complainant to his residence after office hours and forced intimate relations. She claimed that when she resisted, he assured her of marriage.

The woman claimed that this situation continued until April 10, 2023. A few days later, upon being asked about their marriage, she alleged that the appellant refused and asked her to marry someone else. Terming this as rape on the pretext of marriage, the complainant filed the FIR.

The man, however, had already initiated action on his part. On April 24, 2023, he filed a complaint with P.S. Adhartaal, District-Jabalpur, alleging that the complainant was repeatedly threatening to kill herself and had come to his residence, hurled abuses, and even consumed rat poison. He also lodged a complaint with the municipal authorities, who subsequently issued a show cause notice to the woman, asking her to rectify her behaviour or face being relieved of her employment. The woman filed the FIR on October 13, 2023.

Court noted that the appellant and the complainant had been colleagues for five years and that their relationship had developed during this time. The bench observed, "We notice once again that the appellant-accused had initiated legal processes/administrative processes against the complainant much prior to the subject FIR being lodged." Court also pointed out that the FIR was lodged four months after the alleged incident of forced sexual intercourse.

The bench stated that if the description of the offence is taken at face value, the complainant was initially unwilling but was persuaded to engage in the relationship by the assurance of marriage. "When she enquired as to when the same would take place, a few days later, allegedly the appellant accused refused and asked her to marry someone else. That would be the first occasion when, having realized that she had been taken advantage of the complainant should have taken the requisite action," the bench said.

Citing the precedents of State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (1992) and Mohd. Wajid v. State of U.P. (2023), the court held that the FIR and the chargesheet against the appellant ought to be quashed. The court allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court's judgment.

Case Title: Surendra Khawse Vs State of Madhya Pradesh & Anr

Judgment Date: September 22, 2025

Bench: Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh