Shocker: Delhi Police in dock for threatening 13-year-old raped girl

While lambasting the police for its "inaction and apathy" Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Jain also ordered it to pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 to the victim.

"In the instant case, police had not only violated the legal rights of the victim and her family by showing disrespect to them, but also violated the legal and human rights of the victim by not lodging the FIR and pressurising her to settle the matter with the accused.

"Delhi Police is directed to pay a cost of Rs 25,000 to the victim," said the court.

"It is pertinent to state that the victim of rape does not only suffer physical injury but also psychological and emotional trauma. Such victims are required to be dealt with in a cordial atmosphere but instead of helping the victim and her family, police had multiplied their trauma manifold by not lodging the FIR of the incident.

"Thus, to my mind, victim deserves compensation from the police for their inaction and apathy," the court said.

The court passed the order while convicting central Delhi resident Birju alias Mathur for raping a 13-year-old girl after kidnapping her.

As per the prosecution, the victim had approached the police post of Jai Prakash Narain Hospital under Indra Prastha Estate Police on December 12, 2011 along with her mother and told it that she was kidnapped by one Birju, a customer of her mother's bidi shop, on November 27 that year and was raped by him.

Medical examination of the girl too confirmed rape.

During trial, amicus curiae pointed out inordinate delay in lodging of the the FIR at which the prosecution said the girl had not reported the matter to the police in time due to fear and for sake of his family's honour.

The girl and her mother, however, told the court that they had reported the matter to the police the very next day but were made to settle the matter with the convict as they were misguided by the police that if they lodge the complaint, the girl too would be arrested and jailed for seven years.

The victim told the court that it was only after her grand mother got to know about the incident that she went to the DCP office and subsequently, an FIR was lodged.

"Needless to say that under section 154 CrPC, police is under obligation to lodge an FIR if the information relates to commission of a cognisable offence and the in-charge of police station is further under obligation to supply a copy of FIR to

informant free of cost," the court noted.

The court also said the Commissioner of Police shall have the right to recover the amount of compensation from the salary of erring police officials who failed to act on victim's complaint and deposit the amount with the court within six weeks.