A teenaged girl has been sentenced to three months in jail for levelling false charges of rape against a man.

A court in Anantnag, south Kashmir, sentenced the 19-year-old last week saying it was taking a “lenient” view although she could have been handed a jail term of up to “two years”.

The girl had in March accused Shangus resident Tajamul Nisar Dugga of abduction, rape and criminal intimidation. She alleged that Dugga had offered her juice in a hotel, “committed sexual intercourse without her consent”, and later threatened her.

Additional public prosecutor Syed Suhail Haqqani said an FIR was lodged and the girl deposed before a magistrate, reaffirming her allegations. But she retracted her statement during the trial at a fast-track court.

“She said she had lied after he (Dugga) and his family turned down her marriage proposal. It seems the two sides had reached some sort of settlement before she retracted her statement,” Haqqani told The Telegraph.

Additional sessions judge Masarat Shaheen, a woman, took suo motu cognisance of the development.

She noted that the girl had acknowledged on oath before a fast-track court that she had “played a trick” and misled not only the police but also the magistrate to secure “the conviction of the person”.

Haqqani said the girl had been sent to Srinagar central jail. It is not clear whether she would challenge the verdict.

Haqqani said he had come across instances of false rape allegations and hoped the judgment would serve as a deterrent.