Cancer. Cardiac arrest. Weaponized false cases. Captain Rakesh Walia survived it all — and walked into the Supreme Court to prove his innocence. His victory sends one message to every man suffering in silence: Truth doesn’t bend — it fights back.
NEW DELHI: On the occasion of International Men’s Day, at the prestigious Ekam Nyaay Conference, a story of extraordinary courage echoed through the hall the story of Captain Rakesh Walia.
A retired Army officer who battled cancer, survived a heart condition, and still stood unshaken when false criminal cases were used to tear his life apart. When the system was weaponized against him, he chose to fight, not fear.
With IV tubes in his arm he walked miles inside hospitals and with steel in his spine he walked into the Supreme Court of India with truth as his only weapon. His journey sends a clear message to every man suffering in silence: injustice may try to break you, but courage will always rebuild you stronger.
He was honoured for his extraordinary courage in defeating a series of false criminal cases filed against him a battle he fought while simultaneously surviving many challenges.
Background Of The Case
Former Army Intelligence Officer (G3 Intelligence — 350 Brigade) diagnosed with cancer in 2017, suffered cardiac arrest during treatment and his wife underwent major brain surgery. Despite doctors giving him 3–4 months to live, he continued collecting evidence and preparing his legal defence.
Allegations Raised Against Him
Several fabricated FIRs and complaints were filed, allegedly:
- By people known to him
- Including professionals involved in conspiracy
- With no specific incidents, no direct evidence, and contradictory statements
He was:
- Wrongfully named as an accused
- Not arrested
- Yet falsely shown as refusing cooperation, withholding evidence, etc.
Proceedings Before Lower Courts
- Multiple charge sheets were filed without proper verification
- Trial courts kept the matter pending for long
- The officer himself discovered similar false charge sheets filed by the same complainant against different people
- He personally presented those documents in court: Proving a pattern of legal abuse and misuse of arrest threat for coercion, pressure and harassment.
Powerful speech he gave at Ekam Nyaay Conference
Even when doctors told him he had “3–4 months to survive”, Captain responded:
“I give myself 30 years more to live — I guarantee you that.”
With IV pipes in his arms during cancer treatment, he kept walking:
“10,000 steps every single day in the hospital. I said I won’t quit.”
Captain Rakesh Walia discovered wrongful charge sheets, doctored allegations, and a coordinated conspiracy:
“There is a group working around Delhi-NCR. A lawyer. A doctor. Five others. All coordinated. All false.”
When lower courts overlooked contradictions, he remained fearless:
“Put aside the law for a moment if you are innocent, the truth will rise.”
Supreme Court: The Turning Point
On the day his senior counsel couldn’t appear, he decided only a soldier could make:
“My Lord, I will present my case myself.”
The courtroom fell silent.He placed multiple false charge sheets filed by the same complainant before the Bench.
The judge asked the State:
“Have you verified these charge sheets?”
The State admitted:
“It is not six, My Lord… it is eight.”
Captain recalls:
“Everybody knew it. The investigators knew it. But nobody stopped it.”
He was not fighting strangers. He was fighting those who once claimed closeness.
“These things are done by people who know you very well.”
His wife suffered a severe brain injury. He survived two major medical battles. His family was shaken but standing.
He told the young men present:
“Do not lose your head when the storm comes. Get up and fight. Fight for your truth. Nobody can destroy an innocent man unless he chooses to give up.”
He quoted the Mahabharata:
“Krishna didn’t remove the war. He gave Arjun the courage to fight it.”
“Nothing But Abuse Of Process”: Supreme Court While Quashing Rape Case
In the matter of Rakesh Walia v. State of NCT of Delhi & Anr., the apex court stepped in to quash FIR No. 766/2021 registered at Mehrauli Police Station (South Delhi) under Sections 376, 377, 328 and 506 IPC.
Rakesh Walia – a retired Army officer and published author – had been accused by a 39-year-old woman of being drugged with a cold drink during a meeting for a modelling assignment, and then raped and molested. The allegation was that she met him on 29 December 2021 at around Chhatarpur Metro Station, joined his car, consumed a spiked drink and lost consciousness, after which the assault occurred.
However, on a deep dive of the facts, the Court found a striking pattern:
The complainant had filed at least eight (nine including this) similar FIRs across multiple police stations in Delhi over the past eight years, accusing different men of sexual offences under various IPC sections.
Moreover, she failed to cooperate in the investigation – she did not attend court despite service of notice and did not submit key forensic evidence or undergo medical tests in some instances.
The Delhi High Court had earlier declined to quash the proceedings under Section 482 Cr.P.C (now Section 528 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023). The matter reached the Supreme Court via a Special Leave Petition (SLP (Crl.) No. 14850/2024).
On 25 February 2025, a Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran held that the case against RskeaWalia constituted “nothing but an abuse of the process of law”.
They observed that the High Court should have exercised its inherent power to quash the FIR at an earlier stage, given the manifest misuse of legal machinery evident in this record. Accordingly, they directed that the criminal proceedings initiated against Rakesh Walia be quashed.
This case raises red-flags: when statutory protections designed for genuine victims are weaponised – repeatedly filed by the same complainant against multiple men – it dilutes the credibility of the entire system and places innocent men like Rakesh Walia under draconian legal stress.
The Court’s intervention here underscores the imperative that courts must be vigilant against litigations that masquerade as legitimate claims but in effect deploy sexual‐offence statutes as tools of extortion or harassment.
Explanatory Table of All Laws & Sections Mentioned
| Section / Law | Description | Relevance in this Case |
| Section 376, IPC, 1860 | Rape — sexual intercourse without consent, etc. | The FIR alleged rape under this section. |
| Section 377, IPC, 1860 | Unnatural offences (historically ‘unnatural carnal intercourse’) | Also included in the FIR’s charge sheet. |
| Section 328, IPC, 1860 | Causing hurt by means of poison, etc. | The allegation included drugging via a cold drink; this section was applied. |
| Section 506, IPC, 1860 | Criminal intimidation | Included in the FIR as part of multiple charges. |
| Section 482, Cr.P.C., 1973 | High Court’s inherent power to quash criminal proceedings | The petitioner sought relief under this section (before the new law) for quashing. |
| Section 528, BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), 2023 | Superseding section of Cr.P.C. for inherent power to quash | The Court referenced this as the updated statutory power in ending the proceedings. |
Case Details
- Case Title: Rakesh Walia v. State of NCT of Delhi & Anr. (arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 14850 of 2024)
- Bench: Hon’ble Mr Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia & Hon’ble Mr Justice K. Vinod Chandran
- Counsel for Appellant (Petitioner): Mr. Ashwani Kumar Dubey (AOR), Mr. Adwait Ghosh (Adv.), Mr. Chandra Shekhar (Adv.)
- Counsel for Respondent (State): Mr. Brijender Chahar (A.S.G.), Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria (AOR) and others (Raman Yadav, Advitya Awasthi, Santosh Kumar, Nar Hari Singh, Sarthak Karol, Amit Sharma V)
- FIR/Case Reference: FIR No. 766/2021 registered at Mehrauli Police Station, South Delhi.
- Relevant Order Date: 25 February 2025 (Order of the Supreme Court quashing the FIR)
- High Court Reference: Delhi High Court order dated 31-07-2024 in CRLMC No. 5833/2024 (which the petitioner challenged)
Event Details
| Particular | Information |
| Event Name | Ekam Nyaay Conference, International Men’s Day Captain Rakesh Vya |
| Issue | Multiple fabricated FIRs |
| Court | Supreme Court of India |
| Relief | Acknowledgment of false prosecution pattern & protection |
| Honour | Iron Spine – Ekam Nyaay Conference |
| Significance | Message against misuse of criminal law and weaponization of relationships |
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