Himachal Pradesh High Court quashed FIR registered against a religious leader charged under Sections 376, 506 and 34 IPC, holding that the allegations against him did not disclose the commission of any cognizable offence and that continuation of the criminal proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law.

The case arose from a complaint made by a woman who alleged that when she was taken to the petitioner in 2016 for treatment, he administered an intoxicating substance and attempted to sexually assault her. She further alleged that another man later sexually assaulted her on the pretext of marriage and that he acted at the petitioner’s instance. Based on these allegations, an FIR was registered in 2025.

Court noted extraordinary delay in reporting the alleged incident as alleged attempt to rape occurred in 2016, but the accusation surfaced for the first time only in 2023 and was formally incorporated in FIR in 2025. Court found no satisfactory explanation for this delay and observed that earlier complaints did not contain any allegation of rape or attempted rape against the petitioner.

Court also found material inconsistencies in the complainant’s versions. While FIR suggested that petitioner had sexually assaulted her after making her unconscious, her statement recorded before Magistrate stated only that he had attempted to sexually assault her and she escaped.

High Court also referred to a prior dispute at petitioner’s religious establishment where the complainant created a disturbance and was slapped by devotees, leading to intervention by Gram Panchayat. Court observed that these circumstances raised the possibility that criminal proceedings had been initiated due to personal animosity and a desire for vengeance.

Therefore, Court held that the allegations were inherently improbable, unsupported by material evidence, and insufficient to constitute offences under Sections 376, 506, and 34 IPC.