Malta case: Woman adds rape charge

NEW DELHI: A Malta-based woman has filed a writ before the high court to press rape charges against a man who deceived her into sleeping with him.

In her petition before Justice B N Chaturvedi, who issued notice to Delhi Police and the accused, the woman claimed she gave her consent to have intercourse with Davinder Ratwana only after the latter promised to marry her.

Ratwana is already accused of cheating the woman of over US $70,000 on the pretext of marrying her three years ago. The economic offence wing registered the case a year after the woman sent a fax to the Delhi Police commissioner’s office.

Although the judge was initially reluctant to issue a notice, he did so after the woman’s advocate Shilpi Jain said that in criminal law intention behind the act is very important.

“Consent must be considered with regard to sequence of events that preceded the act. In this case, the consent was preceded by deception. And as per law it amounts to rape charges,” Jain told the court.

In her complaint the woman claimed to have met Ratwana on the net in June 2001. Four months later, the accused reportedly proposed to her. He also made her speak to his family members on the phone.

In March 2002, the woman sent US $14,400 to the accused for his trip to Malta. Ratwana stayed there for a month. He learnt of her pregnancy only after his return. The pregnancy was later aborted after Ratwana allegedly claimed he had family problems in Delhi.

He pretended to be under family pressure to start a business of his own and asked the complainant to send him money to set-up a gymnasium. “She send US $56,952 to Ratwana’s account in a private bank. The money was transacted on four different dates,” said Jain.