A Lucknow court on Tuesday sentenced lawyer Parmanand Gupta to life imprisonment for orchestrating false rape cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Special Judge (SC/ST Act) Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi found that Gupta had used a Dalit woman, Pooja Rawat, to lodge nearly a dozen FIRs and multiple court cases against people with whom he had personal enmity or from whom he wanted to extort money.
Gupta was convicted under Section 3(2)(5) of the SC/ST Act, and also awarded 10 years and 1 year imprisonment under Sections 248 and 217 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) respectively. He was fined ₹5.1 lakh, with all sentences ordered to run separately.
The conspiracy came to light when the Allahabad High Court noticed a pattern of repeated rape FIRs by Rawat and ordered a CBI probe. The CBI found that 11 FIRs were filed by Rawat and 18 cases were filed by Gupta.
Rawat later turned approver, admitting that Gupta—knowing her SC status—used her to target his rivals. She worked at a salon run by Gupta’s wife.
While acquitting Rawat, the Court warned her against any future misuse of the law. Judge Tripathi also directed that a copy of the judgment be sent to the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh, stressing that advocates like Gupta must be barred from the profession to protect the integrity of the judiciary.
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