NEW DELHI: A woman and her mother have been ticked off by a Delhi court for their "habit" of lodging false

cases with ulterior motives, including those for grabbing property.

The court, while acquitting a man accused of raping the woman, observed that she and her mother had earlier too lodged several cases of rape, some of which have already been found to be false.

The judgment came after the woman admitted during her cross-examination that she had lodged the false case and had deposed before the police "at the instance and in connivance" with her mother, who had developed a "grudge" against the accused, who ran a shop.

"...All these circumstances are making it evident that neither prosecutrix nor her mother has any regard for the truth and they seem to be in the habit of getting false cases registered either with a view to grab the property of other persons or for carrying out some other illegal design in their minds, best known to them," Additional Sessions Judge

said.

"In view of my aforesaid discussion, the prosecution has miserably failed to bring home the guilt of the accused from any point of view and hence the accused is acquitted of the charges under section 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC," the judge added.

The court in its judgment noted the statement made by the complainant during her cross-examination in which she admitted that her mother had earlier lodged a false case of rape against a

and a man.

The court noted that the complainant had admitted that her mother was annoyed with the lady teacher and the accused man as they were not supporting their claim over a plot of land and for this reason her mother told her to lodge a complaint of rape against them.

Later she even apologised to the teacher and the man for lodging a false case of rape against them, the court pointed out.

The court said the complainant woman also admitted that she had lodged the case in hand at her mother's instant as the shopkeeper had asked them to leave the village, saying that the dubious people were visiting them and they were "indulging in bad acts."

The police had lodged the FIR in September 2008 when the complainant woman had deposed that she was raped by him.