Dunfermline and Inverness finished all square but the Fifers felt as though they had lost after throwing away a first-half lead and being denied a second-half penalty.
The disappointed Pars have still won just once at home all season although Caley were not at all sympathetic at the end of a difficult week which saw manger John Roberson poached by Hearts.
Dunfermline might have gone ahead in the ninth minute when striker Billy Mehmet sent a right-foot rocket towards the top corner only to see keeper Mark Brown pull off an acrobatic save.
A blow in the back to defender Andrius Skerla forced the home team to reorganise and while they did so Barry Wilson almost caught them cold with a first-time effort from long range.
The visitors were actually enjoying their best period of the match when they fell behind after 28 minutes.
Veteran Craig Brewster cleverly turned defence into attack for Dunfermline and Darren Young rounded things of with a terrific 25-yard drive.
Inverness should have equalised minutes later following a mix-up between Scott Wilson and Skerla's replacement Richie Byrne, but Richard Hart hammered the ball high and wide.
Spanish forward Juanjo was clearly the main threat to Dunfermline and after tempting Scott Wilson into a cynical tackle, which resulted in angry scenes, he curled the free-kick a fraction wide.
It took Inverness 56 minutes to get their first attempt on target but goalkeeper Derek Stillie was not seriously worried by a soft header from Darren Dods.
The visitors survived a major scare just three minutes later when Barry Wilson appeared to trip Barry Nicholson but the referee waved away fierce Dunfermline penalty claims.
Inverness seemed fired up by their close shave and Stillie was soon put under real pressure by Russell Duncan and Barry Wilson.
Dunfermline's advantage was looking extremely precarious and, with 11 minutes left, Caley deservedly equalised when substitute Liam Fox drove the ball low through a forest of legs inside the six-yard box.