Kochi: Let police investigate, the Kerala High Court said on Tuesday with regard to the FIR lodged against Olympian Mayookha Johny for allegedly raising false rape allegations.
The court was hearing her plea seeking quashing of the FIR.
During the hearing, Johny's lawyer told the court that she was an athlete and an Olympian and the allegations against her were false.
In response to this, Justice K Haripal said, "Let the police investigate. What does being an Olympian have anything to do with it?"
The court issued notice to the State and the complainant seeking their stand on the athlete's plea to quash the FIR against her.
The sportsperson, represented by Advocate P A Ayub Khan, has claimed the case was lodged against her to pressurise her into withdrawing her support to a friend who was raped by a man, who also took her nude photos and used them to blackmail her.
In her plea she has said that the case was quashed against one of the prime accused in the FIR in question and therefore, the same relief be granted to her also.
The accused in the rape case was denied anticipatory bail by the high court, but he was granted the relief on December 3 by the Supreme Court which also directed him to cooperate with the investigation in the case.
The case against Johny was lodged by police on the direction of a trial court based on a complaint before it alleging that her claims – regarding who raped her friend and the threats to her own life – were false.
Police registered a case against Johny and nine others for allegedly raising false rape allegations following a court directive on a complaint from a former trustee of a local religious outfit.
Johny in July this year had levelled serious allegations against the Kerala police and a former official of the state women's commission in connection with the investigation into the case of rape of her friend in 2016.
She had alleged that police, after initially promising action, became inactive due to intervention of highly influential persons in favour of the accused.
