New Delhi: A runaway couple allegedly beaten up by the wife’s family — who also purportedly chopped off the husband’s penis — now wants the attempted murder case against the family quashed. The reason? They have reached a “settlement” that was facilitated by their ‘community panchayat’.
The couple — Delhi residents Raman and Menka, both 23 now — tied the knot in Jaipur in December 2021 after a relationship of three years. Menka’s family was against Raman right from the beginning.
The day they got back to Delhi, the duo was allegedly kidnapped by Menka’s family and beaten up. According to the FIR filed 23 December, 2021, and the medical reports, the family also severed Raman’s penis from his body.
An FIR was then filed in the Rajouri Garden police station by Raman under provisions related to kidnapping, attempt to murder, and criminal conspiracy, among others. However, in February this year, the accused persons filed a petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), demanding quashing of the case against them.
Section 482 talks about the inherent powers of a high court to pass necessary orders to prevent abuse of process of any court or secure ends of justice. This provision also allows a high court to quash any case it deems fit.
In response, the prosecution filed a status report in the case earlier this week, and has also opposed the petition for quashing the case. Additional public prosecutor Tarang Srivastava called it “one of the most reprehensible crimes”.
He told ThePrint, “The boy was brutally assaulted and his private part was cut off and thrown away. He was left to die and the girl was kept in confinement. The police have provided the couple with protection but somehow, community people are influencing them to settle and compromise. The police are opposing the petition vehemently.”
He asserted that “crimes of such nature have no place in a civilised society” and added that the prosecution shall ensure the case reaches its logical end and the guilty are “severely punished”.
The status report filed by the prosecution also says that round-the-clock protection is being provided to the couple. The matter is set to come up before the high court on 18 July.
The police have arrested 17 people in the attempted murder case and three of the accused are absconding. The trial court has framed charges in the case, and the matter is scheduled for hearing on 2 September this year.
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Family against marriage
According to the FIR filed on 23 December, 2021, and the couple’s statements to the police, the two had met on Facebook three years ago. However, it said, Menka’s family was against their relationship.
The couple eloped to Jaipur on 11 December, 2021, and got married in a temple. They returned to Delhi on 22 December, hoping that Menka’s family would accept them. However, according to the prosecution’s status report, the family responded with death threats to Raman.
The FIR says that on 22 December, 2021, they filed an application for grant of protection at the Rajouri Garden police station. However, on their way back, several of Menka’s family members abducted the duo from a traffic light in Delhi and took them to their house in Delhi’s Sagarpur area.
The family allegedly beat up Raman with laathis (sticks) and belts. Her uncle then purportedly brought an axe and cut off Raman’s penis, instigated by Menka’s grandmother. They then threw and left Raman near a drain.
The man was rescued by his brother and taken to AIIMS trauma centre for treatment. His medical report, submitted in Delhi High Court, notes “complete amputation of penis”.
Menka was allegedly wrongfully confined by her family members from 22 December, 2021, to 6 March, 2022.
‘To maintain healthy relations’
The quashing petition, seen by ThePrint, now says that the matter was “settled with the intervention of family, relatives and (the) panchayat of the Sansi community” in April last year. According to the petition, Menka was pregnant, and was expected to deliver sometime in June this year.
The settlement agreement, seen by ThePrint, says Menka’s family members, who had cut off Raman’s penis, will give an undertaking that they will bear the expenses for his treatment. It directs the family to arrange for Rs 12 lakh for the treatment and also “bear extra expenditure up to Rs 1 lakh”.
The petition says the accused had complied with the panchayat directions, paying for the treatment and compensation, and the family has also accepted their marriage.
“No fruitful purpose will be served by keeping the matter alive, as the same is amicably settled among the parties,” the petition asserts, adding that the purpose of the plea is to “maintain harmony and good/healthy relations between the parties”.
The petition also contains affidavits from Raman and Menka, saying that “with the intervention of relatives and friends, the above mentioned matter has been amicably settled” on 3 April, adding that none of them are under any threat, coercion or pressure to enter into such a settlement.
The affidavits say that the case among the parties was a “family dispute”.
In March last year, though, Menka had told the trial court that she does not want to live with her family and wants to live with her husband. Her statement, seen by ThePrint, said, “I have fear of my life from my parents”.
Before the high court, the matter first came up on 27 February, when some of the accused family members as well as the couple were present in court. On enquiry by Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, Raman told the court that he has, in fact, resolved the dispute with the petitioners, “under the aegis of the community panchayat”, the high court order noted.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)