Sexual Harassment and Rape Cases Lawyer in Delhi: Victims and Accused

What should I do first after a sexual assault or harassment?

Get to a safe place, then get medical help, then report. Those are the first three steps, in that order. Any government hospital in Delhi must examine and treat a survivor free of charge, and private hospitals are also bound to give free first aid and treatment under BNSS section 397. The medical examination needs your consent, and you can ask for a woman doctor to be present.

If you can, keep the clothes you were wearing in a paper bag, do not wash them, and avoid bathing before the medical examination. This advice is about evidence, not blame. If you have already bathed or washed your clothes, report anyway. Many cases are proved on the survivor's statement, messages, call records, CCTV and the surrounding facts, and a delay in reporting is not fatal when there is a reason for it.

Save every message, voice note, call log and photograph exactly as it is. Do not delete chats in anger or forward them in a way that changes the metadata. Take screenshots, but keep the phone itself too. Write down, as soon as you can, the date, time, place and the names of anyone you told afterwards. The first person you confided in can become an important witness.

You do not need a lawyer to file an FIR, but having one at the police station helps. A lawyer can make sure the FIR records the correct sections, that a woman officer takes your statement, and that you receive a free copy of the FIR. Advocate Sadhna Singh usually takes the first call in these matters and will speak to you privately before anything is written down.

I have been falsely accused of rape or molestation. What should I do?

Do not contact the complainant, her family or her friends, in any form. This is the single most common mistake accused persons make. A message meant as an apology or an explanation is treated as pressure on a witness, and it is often the reason bail is refused or cancelled. Every contact from now on should go through a lawyer.

Find out exactly what has been filed. Is there an FIR, and under which sections? Has a complaint gone to a magistrate instead? Is it a POSH complaint at work, which is a different process altogether? The answer decides whether you need anticipatory bail, a reply to the Internal Committee, or both. FIRs registered in Delhi can usually be seen on the Delhi Police website unless they have been withheld as sensitive, and sexual offence FIRs often are, so you may have to apply to the court for a copy.

Preserve your own evidence now. Chats that show the relationship, travel records, office attendance, location history, bank transactions and CCTV from your building can all go missing within weeks. Many CCTV systems overwrite footage within 15 to 30 days. We often write to building managements and employers in the first days of a case for exactly this reason.

Do not go to the police station alone for questioning without first speaking to a lawyer. If the offence alleged is punishable with up to seven years, the police should usually issue a notice under BNSS section 35 rather than arrest, following the reasoning in Arnesh Kumar v State of Bihar (2014). Rape carries a minimum of ten years, so that protection does not apply, and anticipatory bail becomes the main question.

Which BNS sections apply to rape and sexual harassment?

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 replaced the IPC from 1 July 2024. Offences committed before that date are still charged under the old IPC sections, so older cases in Delhi courts still carry section 376 or 354. These are the sections we deal with most often.

Is it bailable? Sexual offences at a glance

A quick reference, simplified. The exact answer depends on the sub-section, the age of the survivor and the facts, so treat this as a starting point and check the FIR.

Bailable means the police or court must release you on bail as of right once you furnish a bond. Non-bailable does not mean bail is impossible. It means the court decides, after hearing the prosecution and, in serious cases, the survivor.

How to file an FIR for rape or sexual harassment in Delhi

Go to any police station and say you want to report a sexual offence. Under BNSS section 173, the information must be recorded by a woman police officer. If the survivor has a physical or mental disability, the statement is recorded at her home or a place of her choice, with an interpreter or special educator where needed, and it is videographed. You do not have to go to the police station of the area where the offence happened. A police station elsewhere must register a zero FIR and transfer it.

Every Delhi Police district has a Crime Against Women cell, and the SHO of the local police station can also be approached directly. If the police refuse to register an FIR, send a written complaint to the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the district by post and email under BNSS section 173(4). If that fails, a complaint can be filed before the magistrate, who can direct the police to register the FIR and investigate under section 175(3).

Refusing to register an FIR in a sexual offence case is itself an offence for the officer concerned under the BNS. In practice, Delhi police stations register these FIRs far more readily than they did ten years ago, but the sections recorded are not always the right ones. Read the FIR before you sign anything, and ask for corrections if a fact has been left out or misstated.

In Noida and Ghaziabad the process is the same, since the BNSS applies across India. Each district in Uttar Pradesh has women's help desks at police stations, and the senior officer to approach is the DCP of the zone under the commissionerate system in both Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad.

What happens after the FIR: the procedure, step by step

This is the usual path of a rape or serious sexual assault case in a Delhi court. Lesser offences under sections 75 to 79 follow a shorter route before a magistrate.

1. Medical examination

   The survivor is examined at a government hospital, with consent, under BNSS section 184, ideally within 24 hours of the police being informed. The doctor's report must reach the investigating officer within seven days. The Supreme Court has forbidden the so-called two-finger test, and no doctor may comment on a survivor's sexual history.

2. Statement before a magistrate

   The investigating officer takes the survivor to a magistrate, usually a woman magistrate, to record her statement under BNSS section 183. This statement carries weight at trial. It is recorded in private, and the accused and his lawyer are not present.

3. Investigation and arrest

   The IO collects evidence: forensic samples, CCTV, phone records, witness statements. The accused may be arrested, or may already have applied for anticipatory bail. The law says the investigation in rape cases should be completed within two months of the FIR under section 193.

4. Chargesheet

   The police file a chargesheet (final report) before the court, or a closure report if they find no offence. The survivor must be informed of a closure report and can file a protest petition. The accused receives copies of the chargesheet and documents.

5. Committal and charge

   The case is committed to the Sessions Court. The judge hears both sides and either frames charges or discharges the accused. A discharge application is a serious opportunity for the defence where the material does not support the offence.

6. Trial in camera

   Rape trials are held in a closed court under BNSS section 366, as far as possible before a woman judge. The survivor is usually among the first witnesses examined. Questions about her character or past sexual experience are not allowed.

7. Judgment and appeal

   The court convicts or acquits. Either side can appeal to the Delhi High Court, or the Allahabad High Court for Noida and Ghaziabad cases. A survivor also has her own right of appeal against an acquittal, a conviction for a lesser offence or inadequate compensation.

The law aims to finish rape trials within two months of the chargesheet. In practice, cases in Delhi's Sessions Courts and Fast Track Special Courts at Saket, Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Rohini, Dwarka, Patiala House and Rouse Avenue usually take one to three years, sometimes longer, depending on witnesses and forensic reports.

POCSO cases: when the victim is a child

Any sexual offence against a person under eighteen is covered by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, alongside the BNS. POCSO cases are tried by Special Courts, which in Delhi sit in each district court complex and in Noida at the Gautam Buddh Nagar court at Surajpur. The procedure is designed around the child: the statement is recorded at the child's home or a place where the child is comfortable, by a woman officer not in uniform, and a support person can be appointed to help the child and family through the case.

Reporting is mandatory. Anyone who knows of a sexual offence against a child, including a school, hospital or hostel, must report it to the police or the Special Juvenile Police Unit. Failing to report is itself an offence. This often puts schools and parents in a difficult position when the information is second-hand, and we advise institutions on how to report correctly without compromising the child.

Age is often the real dispute. Where the survivor's age is unclear, it is determined as under section 94 of the Juvenile Justice Act: school certificates first, then birth certificates from the municipal body, and only then a medical ossification test. A difference of a few months can change the whole case, since consent is legally irrelevant below eighteen.

We also see POCSO cases arising from relationships between teenagers, where the families have filed a case after an elopement. The law makes no exception for these, but courts deal with them with some sensitivity at the bail stage, and the Delhi High Court has commented on the problem more than once. Each such case needs careful handling for both young people involved.

Sexual harassment at the workplace: the POSH Act complaint

A woman harassed at work can complain to her employer's Internal Committee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, usually called the POSH Act. Every workplace with ten or more employees must have an Internal Committee headed by a senior woman employee, with an external member. For smaller workplaces, or where the complaint is against the employer, the complaint goes to the Local Committee set up by the District Officer, which in Delhi is the District Magistrate of the revenue district.

The complaint must be filed in writing within three months of the incident, or of the last incident in a series, and the committee can extend this by another three months for good reason. The committee must finish its inquiry within 90 days. During the inquiry, the complainant can ask for interim relief, such as a transfer of either person or leave of up to three months. The committee's report goes to the employer, who must act on it within 60 days.

A POSH complaint and a criminal FIR are separate, and you can pursue both. The POSH route leads to workplace consequences: warning, withholding of increments, termination, or compensation deducted from salary. The FIR leads to prosecution. Many women choose POSH first because it is faster and private. Where the conduct amounts to assault or stalking, the committee should tell the complainant she may also go to the police.

For the person complained against, the inquiry follows principles of natural justice: a copy of the complaint, time to reply, the right to give evidence and to question witnesses through the committee. Either side can appeal the recommendations within 90 days under section 18, to the appellate authority under the service rules or, where none exists, as notified. Employers wanting to set up a committee or a policy should see our page on labour and industrial laws.

FIR or POSH complaint: which route fits?

What rights does a rape or sexual assault survivor have?

The law gives survivors specific rights, and you can insist on each one. You are entitled to a free copy of the FIR and of your statement. Your identity cannot be disclosed by anyone, including the police and the media. Your statement is recorded by a woman officer and then by a magistrate in private. Free medical treatment is available at any hospital, public or private, and refusing it is an offence.

You can apply for compensation under BNSS section 396 through the District Legal Services Authority, even before the trial ends and even if the accused has not been identified. The Delhi victim compensation scheme provides interim relief in urgent cases. The DLSA in each district court complex also provides a free lawyer to survivors who want one. One Stop Centres in Delhi districts offer shelter, counselling and help with the police.

In the serious categories, the survivor or her representative has a right to be heard when the accused applies for bail, and the court must give notice. You also have the right to be told if the police propose to close the case, to file a protest petition, and to engage your own lawyer to assist the prosecution during the trial. Survivors who want a private advocate alongside the public prosecutor often instruct us for that reason, so that someone is watching the case on their behalf at every hearing.

The trial court must not allow questions about a survivor's character or past relationships. If such questions are asked, the public prosecutor or your own advocate should object, and the judge must stop them. Most survivors find the cross-examination the hardest part of the case. Preparing for it, with the statement in front of you, is part of what a lawyer is for.

Can I get bail in a rape case?

Yes, bail can be granted in rape cases, but it is never automatic. For regular bail, the application goes to the Sessions Court and then, if refused, to the High Court under BNSS section 483. The court looks at the nature of the allegation, the material collected, the stage of investigation, whether the accused may threaten the survivor or tamper with evidence, and whether he is likely to flee. Courts often impose conditions: no contact with the survivor, staying away from her area, surrendering a passport, reporting to the police station.

Anticipatory bail under section 482 is available in most sexual offence cases, but it is barred by section 482(4) where the allegation is rape of a girl under sixteen or gang rape of a girl under eighteen. In those cases the accused can only apply for regular bail after arrest. In other cases, anticipatory bail is often granted where the FIR came long after the events, where chats show a consensual relationship, or where the allegation is plainly tied to a property or matrimonial dispute. It is often refused where the allegation is fresh and supported by medical evidence.

Bail in POCSO cases goes to the Special Court, and the child's family must be heard. Bail is usually harder in POCSO cases involving young children and somewhat less difficult where the survivor was close to eighteen and the facts point to a relationship.

Advocate B.K. Singh's approach to bail in these cases is to start with the timeline: when the relationship began, when it ended, when the complaint was made and what happened in between. Gaps and inconsistencies in that timeline are what the court looks at first. Our bail lawyer page explains bail principles in more detail.

False promise of marriage cases under BNS section 69

A large share of the sexual offence FIRs filed in Delhi involve adults in a relationship that ended, where the woman says she agreed only because the man promised to marry her. Courts draw a clear line here. If the man never intended to marry her and made the promise only to obtain consent, the consent is vitiated and an offence is made out. If he intended to marry her at the time and things later fell apart, it is a broken relationship, not a crime.

Section 69 of the BNS now deals with this situation directly, with a maximum of ten years. Evidence in these cases is almost always digital: years of chats, photographs, travel bookings, messages to family members. What the parties said to each other at the start of the relationship and at the end often decides whether a court grants anticipatory bail or quashes the FIR.

For the woman, the question to answer is whether the promise was false from the start: for example, the man was already married, already engaged to someone else, or gave a false name or religion. For the man, the question is whether there is material showing a genuine intention and a later change of circumstance. Courts have quashed FIRs where the relationship ran for years between educated adults, and refused to quash where the deception was evident from the beginning.

Can a rape case be settled or quashed after a compromise?

Generally, no. Rape is a non-compoundable offence, and the courts have repeatedly held that a serious offence against a woman cannot be wiped out by a private settlement. Money paid to a survivor to withdraw her statement does not end the case, and pressuring her to turn hostile can lead to a further case of witness intimidation. Survivors should know that they cannot be compelled to compromise.

The High Court can quash an FIR under BNSS section 528 where the allegations, even if accepted, do not make out an offence, or where the case is plainly an abuse of process. This is most often seen in false promise of marriage cases where the parties have since married each other, or where the material shows a long consensual relationship. The court looks at the facts, not just the compromise.

Lesser offences are a different matter. Some cases under sections 75 to 79 arise from neighbourhood or family disputes and are resolved through mediation, and the courts can take a more flexible view. A POSH complaint can be resolved through conciliation at the complainant's request under section 10, but no monetary settlement may form the basis of conciliation.

What to keep and what to bring to the first meeting

Bring copies, not originals, unless we ask for them. Keep the phone that holds the messages, and do not reset or sell it.

Mistakes we see on both sides

• Deleting chats. Survivors sometimes delete messages out of distress, and accused persons delete them out of fear. Both lose evidence that may have helped them. Deleted data can sometimes be recovered forensically, but not always.
• Contacting the other side. An accused who calls the complainant to explain or apologise hands the prosecution its best argument against bail.
• Posting about the case on social media. It can amount to disclosing the survivor's identity under BNS section 72, it can be defamatory, and it is read by the investigating officer.
• Signing a statement without reading it. Police statements are sometimes written in a hurry. A survivor should read hers, or have it read to her, and ask for corrections before signing.
• Waiting too long on a POSH complaint. The three-month limit is real. Extensions are given only for good reason.
• Filing exaggerated allegations to gain the upper hand in a property or matrimonial dispute. We do not take such instructions. Courts see through them, and they damage every genuine survivor's case.

How we handle these cases

We act for survivors and for accused persons, but never for both sides in the same matter, and we check for conflicts before any meeting. Everything you tell us is confidential. Women clients often prefer to speak first to Advocate Sadhna Singh, and that is the usual arrangement. She takes the first account, collects the documents and stays the client's point of contact through the case.

Advocate B.K. Singh appears at bail hearings, discharge arguments, quashing petitions and trials, in the Sessions Courts across Delhi, at Surajpur and Ghaziabad, and in the Delhi High Court. His computer science background matters in these cases more than people expect, because so much of the evidence is now on phones: chat exports, deleted messages, location data and the BSA section 63 certificate needed to prove electronic records.

We will tell you plainly when we think a case is weak, on either side. For a survivor, that may mean explaining that the evidence available supports a POSH complaint but not yet a criminal charge. For an accused person, it may mean explaining that the case against him is serious and bail is unlikely at the first stage. Fees are discussed at the first meeting and agreed in writing, stage by stage; court fees and other out-of-pocket costs are separate.

What to do this week

• Write down the timeline of events with dates, while your memory is fresh.
• Back up your phone and keep it safe; do not delete anything.
• Collect the FIR, notice, complaint or committee letter you have received.
• If you are accused, stop all contact with the complainant and her family.
• If you are a survivor, note the names of people you told and when.
• Check any deadline: a POSH complaint within three months, a date before the court, a police notice.
• Send us a short note through the online enquiry, or call the office to arrange a private meeting.