New Delhi/Patna: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Bihar government and IPS officer Pushkar Anand in connection with a rape allegation case filed by a former woman DSP of Bihar Police. The case was heard by a bench comprising Justice K. Vishwanathan and Justice S.V.N. Bhatti. The court has sought a response from both parties, with the next hearing scheduled for March 24.
The petition challenges the Patna High Court’s decision in November 2024 to quash the FIR against Pushkar Anand. Advocate Ashwini Kumar Dubey, representing the complainant, stated that the Supreme Court has ordered a review of the High Court’s ruling.
The case dates back to 2014 when a then-woman DSP accused IPS officer Pushkar Anand of sexually exploiting her under the pretense of marriage. According to her complaint, the two officers met in 2013 while posted in Kaimur district. Their acquaintance grew over Facebook and WhatsApp, leading to a romantic relationship. The complainant alleged that Anand repeatedly assured her of marriage, following which they had physical relations.
However, later, Anand’s family allegedly sought the woman officer’s birth details for horoscope matching. Soon after, the IPS officer called off the marriage, citing that their horoscopes did not match and that she was Manglik. The complainant further alleged that when she protested, Anand mentally and physically harassed her and threatened to ruin her career.
Following these events, she filed an FIR at the women’s police station in Bhabua, accusing Pushkar Anand and his parents under IPC sections 376(2)(B) (rape by a person in authority), 354A (sexual harassment), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (insulting a woman’s modesty).
Initially, the district police handled the investigation, but the complainant alleged that Anand, then serving as Kaimur SP, misused his position to influence the probe. Amid growing controversy, the case was transferred to the CID, and a special committee, led by an Inspector General (IG), was formed under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013.
On February 25, 2015, the IG submitted its findings to the court. The case was being heard in Bhabua’s SDJM court, which, on April 1, 2019, directed the CID to proceed with the investigation. However, Anand challenged the FIR and the SDJM’s order in the Patna High Court on October 22, 2019.
In November 2024, the High Court dismissed the case, ruling that the sexual relationship between the two was consensual. The complainant then approached the Supreme Court in January 2025, challenging this decision.
During the hearing on February 17, Advocate Ashwini Kumar Dubey presented five key arguments before the SC:
- The accused misled the complainant by making a false promise of marriage and later abandoned her.
- As a senior police officer, he tried to influence the investigation.
- When the woman DSP complained to the DGP about the incident on December 23, disciplinary action was initiated against her just four days later, on December 27.
- The Patna High Court’s decision was flawed because consent for a physical relationship was given under the condition of marriage, which later did not happen due to the horoscope issue.
- The case also involves the IPS officer’s parents, making the High Court’s ruling invalid.
Dubey emphasized that along with rape and criminal intimidation charges, Anand and his family members face serious allegations of facilitating a crime.
With the Supreme Court admitting the petition and issuing notices, the case may be reopened in the local court of Bhabua if the SC reinstates the FIR. If that happens, the trial will begin afresh.
Meanwhile, the complainant, now serving as a CID SP, has declined to comment on the case. She stated, “Whatever decision the Supreme Court takes, I will accept it.”
